


All's Fair In Love and... well... Love

by Webdog177, Weiss3100



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Grimm, Boarding School, F/F, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-28
Updated: 2018-06-04
Packaged: 2019-03-10 11:10:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 59,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13500606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Webdog177/pseuds/Webdog177, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Weiss3100/pseuds/Weiss3100
Summary: In a last-ditch effort to instill a sense of propriety and responsibility into his wayward daughter, Ruby's father sends her off to boarding school in Atlas. How Ruby is supposed to have any of that when she's sent to an all-girls school, she has no clue... but she's not complaining. [Boarding school AU, Grimm-free Remnant, Whiterose]





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing. This is for entertainment purposes only.
> 
> A/N: So this is a new thing I'm trying out. I had a thought the other day of 'What if there was no Grimm in Remnant, and the world was much the same as ours?' Naturally, the academies would just be expensive boarding schools (can anyone say... Hogwarts?) that parents send their kids to. And, of course, what would make a father send his youngest daughter to another continent just to attend school? Why, his disobedient, rule-flaunting, girl-crazy teenager of a daughter, Ruby Rose, that's who.
> 
> And so, we have this story of love, loss, and sweet, sweet Whiterose goodness.
> 
> Enjoy.

**All's Fair In Love and... Well... Love**

_Chapter 1_

0 – 0 – 0

Atlas Academy smells like fresh paint. At least, the main foyer does. Sitting in a supremely uncomfortable chair outside the Headmistress’s office, seventeen-year-old schoolgirl Ruby Rose taps the toes of her polished leather shoes against the tiled floor, wondering just how much longer this is going to take.

Her father is inside with the Headmistress, finalizing her admission, and she can hear every word they’re saying about her. Why they bothered sending her out of the room in the first place is a complete mystery.

“I thought the discipline of a boarding school might be good for her,” she hears her dad say with a heavy sigh. “It certainly can’t hurt.”

That’s parent code for: I’ve tried everything, and just don’t know what to do with her anymore, so now she’s all yours.

Its par the course as far as Ruby’s concerned, and she hadn’t been the least bit surprised when the threat of boarding school was first mentioned. After all, they did the same with the family dog.

Zwie wouldn’t stop humping the sofa cushions, so they sent him to a training facility called The Dog House. He was kept there until he started behaving in a more socially acceptable manner, then he was shipped back home, a fully reformed pooch.

Poor Zwie. His spirit was irreparably crushed.

Sliding her hips forward in the chair, Ruby leans her head back and stares at the ornate ceiling. Plaster reliefs frame a large chandelier at the center, mimicking floral vines spreading outward and creeping down the walls. It all seems overly fancy just for the sake of being so, which is in keeping with pretty much everything else she’s seen since her arrival forty minutes ago, starting with the large and totally pointless marble of the school’s founder at the head of the driveway, the Atlesian motto inscribed on its base: _Guidance and Unity._

Well, isn’t that lovely.

The main school building itself is a sprawling mansion with numerous additions added over the many decades since it became a privately run educational institution instead of owned by the provincial government. This place is fancy – posh, Ruby thought she heard the word used once before – as you’d expect from a private boarding school in Atlas, and for Ruby’s father, that’s even more important than the school’s impressive exam scores and outstanding educational inspection reports.

As time drones on, the back-and-forth between her father and the Headmistress continues, and the doublespeak abounds. When questioned as to why they he felt the need for such an abrupt mid-tern transfer instead of waiting for the new school term to begin, her father’s reply was simply, “She had some difficulty with a teacher.”

Translation: She’s disobedient, unruly and insubordinate.

Upon being quizzed about his decision to enroll his youngest child in boarding school rather than moving her to, say, another private school more closer to home, he says, “I thought the experience might be able to teach her some responsibility.”

Translation: I want her to grow up a little.

Thanks, dad.

On his election of Atlas Academy in particular, “She needs strict routine and some discipline, which she can’t really get at home.”

Translation: I blame myself for her wayward behavior. Since her mom died, I’ve indulged her far too much, and what she really needs is a good spanking.

More on that, “She has fanciful ideas, shows no respect for the feelings of others, and needs to be given a healthy dose of reality.”

Translation: She’s displayed some lesbian tendencies, and while I have no issue with that in and of itself, some perspective might do her some good.

Ruby’s not really sure how he thinks they’re going to achieve that by sending her to an all-girls school, but she’s definitely not complaining. She is sick of listening to them slander her, however, so she gets up and meanders around the foyer to kill some time.

What started as a light drizzle an hour ago is not a downpour beating down outside. The full length glass doors at the main entrance offer an unbroken view of the school’s track field to the right – large puddles already forming in the turf – and covered ball courts to the left.

Catching her reflection in a mirror hanging on the wall beneath a large sign that reads ‘Are you presentable?’, Ruby ponders the pros and cons of her new uniform. The slip-on leather shoes are the same ones she wore at her old school – so no change there. The knee-high socks are almost identical, too, except these are black where her old ones were white. The pleated, plain black A-line skirt is a few inches longer than she’d life; it comes down to her knees. The black skirt is starchy and stiff, the top button undone; she feels like a rebel.

Her blue and silver necktie hangs a little loose, which she’ll probably get in trouble for, but she prefers it this way.  Having something so close against her neck make her feel as though she’s choking, and she hates that the tie is a compulsory part of the uniform. At least the colors are a vast improvement over her old school, which was a shade of orange so bright it was almost fluorescent. It was the color of strained carrots, but they called it ‘tangerine’. Either way, it made Ruby want to throw up.

The worst part about this new uniform was undoubtedly the blue cardigan. When she first heard there was an option to wear a cardigan instead of a blazer, she thought it would be liberating. The blazer at her old school was heavy and thick, weighing her down and restricting her movement, but this cardigan does far something far worse: it covers her boobs.

Not that they’re that big to begin with, but now they’re almost invisible. Perhaps that’s the point of it, she thinks. The longer skirts, the flat shoes, the potato sack cardigans are all designed to make students look less sexually appealing to another. Ugh. Now she’s going to have to put more effort into her hair.

She drags her finger from crown to tip, teasing out the tangles in her shoulder-length, dark locks. Did she remember to brush this morning? She couldn’t remember. To add insult to injury, makeup is strictly forbidden. She’d been permitted to keep on a subtle shade of pink lip gloss, but was forced to remove everything else. Never before has she felt so grateful for having a smooth complexion. Her only real complaint is that her pale silver eyes seem somewhat lost on her pale face without any mascara or eyeliner to make them stand out.

Well, fuck it.

She pivots away from the mirror, looking for something better to do than pick out the faults with herself, and a large notice board by the main doors is the first thing to draw her attention. It’s chock-full of flyers for all sorts of different after-class clubs, but the sign-ups were closed weeks ago. She’ll have to wait until the next term to start running again, or take up fencing, or take up a musical instrument.

Fortunately, things start to look a lot better when she hears the _slap-slap_ of shoes and turns to see a girl skip up the steps to the front doors, sheltered from the rain by a large silver umbrella bearing the school’s crest. As she reaches the top of the steps, protected by the overhand of the building, she turns her back to the doors and shakes off her umbrella, trying to close it up without dropping a bundle of books she’s carrying in her arms. At the same time, she backs into one of the glass doors, pushing on it with her ass, her cheeks pressed up against it, trying to open it without the use of her hands.

After a few seconds of watching her struggle, Ruby makes a move to help, but the brief hesitation costs her and someone else gets there first. The girl – uniformed like her, her hair matted from the rain, her clothes damp – runs up from out of nowhere, her timing perfect. She takes the umbrella from the girl’s hands, buttons it, and then holds open the door.

“Thank you,” the girl murmurs her thanks, checking the books to make sure she’s managed to save them all from the onslaught of the weather.

The new girl – about Ruby’s age along with the first, short black hair cut into a bob, her cheeks dark from running to get out of the rain – hangs the umbrella on a rack near the doors, then turns to the first girl’s aid.

“Can I help you with anything else, Weiss?” She holds her hands out to take the books.

“I don’t think so, Ciel.” She rejects the offer, her voice soft and clear, making every word sound distinct, prim, and quite frankly, really sensual. “You’re all wet.”

That shouldn’t sound dirty, but it does. The girl’s positively oozing sexuality, even wearing the frumpy, god-awful school uniform like everyone else. The flat-soled shoes did nothing to hide her long, sock-clad legs, the hem of her pleated skirt rolled up to just above her knees, her ass and hips hugged tightly by the fabric. Her long-sleeved cotton blouse – not the cardigan, Ruby notices – is snug around her bust, the top button left undone, creating just enough of a plunge in her neckline that releases the bare, milky skin of her neck.

Long, silvery hair is tied harshly back, neat bangs parted in the middle, not quite long enough to reach her eyebrows. As she brings a hand up to tuck a stray wisp of hair behind her ear, a small, sapphire cufflink catches the light. The shade of dark blue matches the studs in her ears, which match the barrette in her hair.

Sensing the attention of someone’s eyes, she looks over and meets Ruby’s gaze. Her lips are a light pink, slightly parted and curled into a small smile. Her long, makeup free eyelashes flutter, her ice-chip blue eyes shimmering in the glare of the foyer lighting.

Ruby’s not too sure how much time passes this way, with blue eyes hooked unwaveringly onto silver, neither female able to break away, but it feels like hours.

“Are you new?” the girl asks at last, taking a step closer, turning her back on the other girl. “Is this your first day?”

Ruby nods, clasping her hands behind her back so that she doesn’t fidget. “Um, Yeah.”

The girl keeps advancing, her shoes slapping quietly on the tiled floor. She has an elegant sway to her hips, and the hem of her skirt swings from side to side with each step. The movement of her whole body is hypnotic, her poise graceful and self-assured. When she gets within arm’s reach, she extends a hand towards Ruby’s face and fingers some hair out of her eyes, trailing a fingertip down her check as she moves the wayward lock of her hair aside.

“You’re cute,” she coos softly. “I think you’ll fit in here quite well.”

Over her shoulder, the wet girl is dripping on the floor tiles, glowering. Ruby can see the look of distain on the girl’s face, but give it little regard. The gorgeous silver-haired girl is fawning over her – this is awesome!

Much to her disappointment, though, the door to the Headmistress’s office suddenly swings open, causing the girl to withdraw in a flash. Excessive physical contact between students is, while common, usually prohibited. While short touches of the arm or hand is accepted, much more than that is frowned upon.

Ruby vaguely remembered reading that somewhere and scoffing.

“I should go.” The girl checks her watch, excusing herself immediately. “Welcome to Atlas!” she says as she heads for the main staircase, calling over her shoulder as she departs. “Good luck!”

Ruby is left feeling a little dazed. Did that really just happen? They didn’t even exchange names. Who the hell was she? There’s no time for contemplation, though, as her father steps into the foyer, followed by the headmistress, Professor Wilkins, who sets on her without pause for any pleasantries.

“You’ll have to brush that mop of hair and secure it with a clip.” She peers at Ruby’s ears, examining her earrings. “Simple studs are permitted, but all other jewelry is forbidden.” She examines one of Ruby’s hands, picking at the black nail polish. “Clear nail lacquer only. You’ll find polish remover in your dormitory bathroom.” She drops the offending hand. “I’ll fetch someone to give you a guided tour of the school, and that’ll be all for today. You’ll start classes as normal tomorrow morning.” She hands over a thick pile of school supplies, naming them off one by one. “A day planner, class schedule, book list, dormitory rules—“

She goes on, but Ruby stops listening. Now in her late fifties, Professor Wilkins has probably been a teacher her entire adult life. At least, that’s the impression that Ruby gets. She has a practice austerity about her, and a face that makes it appear larger as though she seldom smiles. Her lips are thin, slightly pursed, her cheeks somewhat gaunt. She has jowls, almost like a dog, as if all the plumpness from her face just sort of fell to her jawline when she hit menopause, and hard.

While one eye works actively to take in every detail of her surroundings – form the torrential rain outside, to the small puddle of water left behind where the scowling girl was standing before she practically chased the silver-haired girl up the staircase – the other eye remains eerily still. The two eyeballs aren’t even the same color. One is paled from age and approaching blindness, while the other is a rich hazel. The fact that it’s a false eye couldn’t possibly be any more shockingly apparent, even if it still had the price tag on it.

When she’d done thrusting various things into Ruby’s hands, including a key for her dormitory, which she is told to guard as if her life depended on it, Professor Wilkins pulls a scroll from her pocket and taps out a quick message to one of the teachers in the building.

While waiting for the teacher to read the message and send the student who’s been selected to conduct the tour, Ruby’s father made a hasty departure, taking advantage of the temporary lull in the rainstorm. He tells her to behave, follow instructions, try to get along with everyone, and adhere to school rules – and the usual parental bullshit.

In the rush, he forgets to say ‘I love you’, but that’s not an uncommon oversight in their household. Ruby stopped giving it too much thought a long time ago, and now’s certainly not the moment to dwell on it. The doors are barely closed behind them when a bubbly girl with curly hair that’s so red it looks like it’s on fire runs down the staircase into the foyer, her rubber-soled shoes slapping against the tiles.

“No running!” Professor Wilkins barks before introducing them. “Set a proper example, for goodness sake.” She shakes her head at the girl, tutting her disapproval. “Miss Rose, this is Penny Polendina, one of our more senior girls. She’s been a pupil here for almost three years, and she’ll be your guide this afternoon. It’ll do her some good to practice being a mentor.” That last bit was said with some inflection, like the older woman was trying to chastise without being too obvious.

As if being deliberately belligerent, Penny ignores the last comment and holds her hand out to Ruby. “Hey there! Nice to meet you! Wanna be friends?”

“Mentor, Penny.” Professor Wilkins sighs. “Don’t be so stubborn. Friendship comes after teaching her the ropes.” She shooes them both away. “Off you go now.”

Grinning, Penny grabs Ruby’s hand and leads her away, clearly excited to break with routine and spend the rest of the day leading the new girl around campus instead of being stuck inside a classroom.

“What’s your name?” she asks as they round the corner.

“Ruby.”

“Roo-bee,” Penny repeats to herself, thinking it over. “I like it very much,” she concluded. “I love making new friends. Which dorm have you been assigned to?”

Ruby consults one of the many sheets of paper in her bundle of supplies. “Um, the Schnee dorm?”

“Ah! That’s the same dorm Weiss stays in! She’s great – her family owns the school, but she’s really nice. Truly, a great friend!” Penny clasps her hand over her heart. “You are so lucky! She’s the best dorm leader in the entire school. She so pretty – and a native Atlesian, too,” she adds with pride.

Ruby perks up at that. She wonders if Weiss could possibly be the girl she met in the foyer. The provocative, sexy silver-haired girl certainly fit Penny’s enthusiastic and theatrical description: extremely pretty and really nice. At least, Ruby had thought so.

“Are you in her dorm, too?” Ruby wonders, amused that Penny is so besotted.

Penny shakes her head. “I’ve not yet had the chance. We change dorms every couple of years, but so far I have not had the luck.”

Ruby nods, taking that in for future reference.

“Anyway, I may not have the chance before I graduate. It’s a shame.”

“And Weiss is nice?” Ruby presses, wincing slightly at how the words sounded out loud, but wondering how much more information Penny would divulge about this intriguing dorm leader.

“Absolutely!” Penny grins. “She’s marvelous. You’ll love her – everyone does. Just make sure you don’t… um,” her face pinches slightly, thinking of the words. “Fall in love with her? Or something like that.”

Ruby snorts, “Fall in love? Why would I do that?”

Penny shrugs. “You wouldn’t be the first to and you don’t want to end up with a broken neck like that last one.”

Ruby had a number of issues in that last sentence. She wouldn’t be the first girl in Weiss’ dorm to get lovesick over the girl – that much she understands. But a broken neck? Was that some sort of Atlesian slang that she didn’t know? What was the context? Was it an exaggeration?

She can think of at least fifteen different follow-up questions right off the bat, but doesn’t get to voice even one before the bell rings and students spew into the hallways.

And then chaos ensues.

0 – 0 – 0

**End of Chapter 1**


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing. This is for entertainment purposes only.

**All's Fair in Love and… Well… Love**

_Chapter 2_

0 – 0 – 0

Much to Ruby's increasing frustration, Penny manages to drag out the tour for the entire day. They don't stop until dinnertime, when they head straight to the cafeteria for something to eat.

As per Professor Wiklins' rigid structuring of mealtimes, all younger students are required to each breakfast, lunch and dinner together in the cafeteria, as opposed to cooking for themselves in the kitchens if their respective dorms, which some of the oldest students are allowed – and encouraged – to do.

The main doors to the cafeteria are closed to students at six o'clock sharp, and the students are served according to their dorm. For tonight only, Ruby is permitted to sit with Penny at a long table reserved for girls from her dorm. In the future, if she wants to eat meals in the cafeteria, she'll have to take a place at the table belonging to the Schnee dorm instead, and at the proper time.

Once they're all seated, another set of doors is opened to any members of the teaching staff who would rather eat here than go through the trouble of having to make their own evening meals, and they take their places in a separate area of the cafeteria, cordoned off from the student body by an ornate, wrought iron balustrade.

Barely listening to any of the conversations going on around her, Ruby keeps her eyes pinned to the faculty tables. The silver-haired girl from earlier is there, conversing with two teachers. Apparently, Ruby thinks, that girl might very well be Weiss Schnee. Is she a teacher? She seems too young to be one, but her place at the faculty table seems like proof enough.

But, just to be sure, Ruby nudges Penny with her elbow. "Hey, is that Weiss?" She tips her head in the direction of the girl.

"Yup," Penny grins. "She's pretty, huh?"

"When do I get to meet her?"

"I'll take you to her dorm soon, after we pick up the books you need from the library." She frowned slightly, tilting her head to the side. "But be careful, friend Ruby, it sort of sounds like you have the gooey eyes over her already."

Ruby wrinkles up her hands and purses her lips, the image of gooey eyes melting from her face flashing through her mind. "Eww, gross. You mean goo-goo eyes?"

Penny slaps a hand to her cheek. "Is that how you say it? Gosh, I had no idea." And then she giggles. "It's okay, though. It looks like she's making them at you, too."

Sure enough, Ruby raises her eyes to the faculty table once again and finds Weiss looking right back at her. There's a reserved, slightly lopsided smile playing on her lips, almost cheeky, but not overtly so.

Ruby's heart pounds in her chest and her stomach churns.

0 – 0 – 0

Arms laden with library books, Ruby follows Penny inside one of the smaller boarding houses on school grounds. They don't bother to knock.

The spacious main hall echoes with laughter and giggles, the strong, welcoming smell of baking is drifting through it. To the left of the main entrance, there's an open, spacious living area – the common room – complete with television, video games, beanbags, armchairs, and four squishy looking sofas. To the right, there are three doors, one marked Schnee, one marked Ansell, the other marked Study Room. In the center of the hall, a wide staircase leads up to the first floor, branching off left and right.

At the very back of the ground floor, there's a large kitchen. It has enough seating for just under forty people, three skinks, two ovens, five microwaves, and more pots and pans than Ruby has ever seen. At that moment, the tables and counters are dusted with flour, fragments of egg shells, spilt milk, and the odd chocolate chip:  _oh, holy crap they're baking cookies._

_Fucking score!_

Students ranging from fifteen to eighteen are mixing, kneading, rolling, cutting, and appear to be having a great deal of fun in the process. Weiss Schnee is there in the midst of it all, offering tips and guidance, making sure nobody puts their fingers near the blades of the electric whisks, or touches a power outlet with wet hands.

At the largest table, one of the younger – or at least most enthusiastic – students is kneading a powdery mixture in a bowl, barely dipping her fingers into it, afraid to make a mess.

"It's cold and goopy," she complains, pulling a face.

Weiss, even though noticeably shorter than the girl by at least a foot, merely swoops in from behind to the overtly tentative young baker, leaving mere inches between them.

"It won't bite you, Harlow," She laughs, grabbing the girl's hands and pushing them deep into the bowl, forcing her to be much less delicate. "You need to work the ingredients together like this. See?" She manipulates Harlow's hands, cookie dough splurging between their entwined fingers. "You have to be firm with it."

Harlow giggles. "It still feels gross!"

"But it'll taste delicious." Weiss nudges her with a bump of her hips.

Announcing their presence, and the arrival of a newcomer into the fold, Penny clears her throat, drawing Weiss' concentration away from cookie making. "Hello Weiss –" she grabs Ruby by the sleeve of her cardigan and pulls her into the kitchen. "May I present your new dorm-minion, Ruby Rose."

Weiss peels herself away from Harlow, doing so calmly and slowly. "Thank you, Penny." She smiles and waggles her fingers towards the girl in greeting. "But please remember; I do not have minions, I have slaves."

Penny laughs, as do a handful of the girls loitering around. Ruby smiles tentatively, feeling a bit left out of what is clearly an inside joke.

"Right, right. Slaves. I'll remember that."

Rolling her eyes, Weiss turns her attention on Ruby. In silence, she sucks raw cookie dough off one of her fingers, her pink lips wrapped around the slender digit, sliding from base to tip as she regards the dark haired girl with the same intense interest she'd shown earlier in the hallway.

Afterward, she flits her eyes back to Penny. "Before you go, please tell me what you think of this." She offers up another of her dough-smudged fingers.

The invitation is innocent enough. Penny takes a swipe of the sugary substance on one of her own fingers and brings it to her mouth. "It's good," she grins. "Very sweet. Thank you!"

Before Ruby has a chance to wonder if she might be lucky enough to receive the same enticement, Weiss' eyes are already back on her.

"Do you have any allergies, Miss Rose?"

Ruby shakes her head.

"Good," Weiss holds the index fingers on her other hand out. "So have a taste, won't you?"

Blinking rapidly and noting that the offered fingers is being held at the mouth level for her, Ruby can't resist; she steps forward and wraps her lips around the base of the digit, maintain eye contact with Weiss all the while. There is a soft, collective gasp from around the group, and the silver-haired girl's eyes widen almost unnoticeably, her lips form a small 'o' of surprise at Ruby's boldness.

Ruby takes the fact that she isn't immediately scolded for her brazen actions by taking the whole finger into her mouth, sucking gently and tasking milk, eggs and sugar on her tongue. When she finally gets to the tip, she flicks her tongue against Weiss one last time, puckers her lips, and closes her mouth in the motion of a kiss, gently slipping away.

In the wake up it, lost in the sensuality of it all, she forgets to speak.

"Well?" Weiss prompts her, ignoring the shell-shocked atmosphere that surrounds them. "Do you like it?"

Eager to impress, Ruby grins and recalls her mother teaching her to bake cookies as a girl, hoping she could offer some good pointers without sounding like a fool.

"Maybe a bit more brown sugar, it adds a bit more depth to the sweetness. And you can never go wrong with more chocolate chips."

Weiss' mouth twitches, another smile trying to break free. "Oh yes? You know a lot about baked goods?"

"Just a little," Ruby's smile matches Weiss, and she squishes an inch or air between her thumb and forefinger, indicating a small amount of knowledge, not wanting to oversell herself. "But I do know my way around a muffin."

Pinching the nail of her recently cleaned finger between her teeth, the moist fingertip resting on her lower lip, Weiss lets her smile escape.

"Nicely said, Miss Rose." She follows that declaration with a vague, "I like you. You'll fit in well here."

Ruby is still transfixed on her lips. They look so soft, so kissable; so—

"Take her to my study, please," Weiss directs at Penny, her command snapping Ruby out what was looking to be a lovely daydream. "I'll clean up and be right there."

Nodding compliantly, Penny tugs on Ruby's arm and leads her to the room marked ' _Schnee_. Inside, there's a large wooden desk, cluttered with school books and papers. One wall is completely covered by an ornate bookshelf, while another looks to be a wardrobe and a doorway presumably leading to a private bathroom.

Ruby starts tallying things up: Beautiful, smart, a good sense of humor and takes teasing exceedingly well. Just how much better could this get?

"You want me to wait with you?" Penny offers.

Ruby shakes her head. "Nah, I'll be fine. Thanks for today."

"Have fun, then." Penny smirks. "But not too much fun! See you soon!"

Alone in Weiss' room, Ruby sets her heavy books down on a leather sofa opposite the desk and begins to explore the bookshelf. Many books are – perhaps unsurprisingly – textbooks and other reference books, most of which she's never even heard of. Some other the others are novels and stories, ranging from historical dramas to romance. She even spies a couple volumes of "Ninjas of Love" and continues exploring, grinning widely.

She fingers the spine of a book called,  _Atlesian Art: A Brief History._ The book's author:  _Winter Schnee_.

Huh.

Curious, she scoops the book off the shelf and flicks through it, becoming so absorbed in it that she doesn't hear the door open and close behind her.

"You have an interest in Atlas?"

Weiss' voice makes her jump.

"Oh – I'm sorry!" She snaps the book shut, startled to find the girl sneaking up on her. "I wasn't snooping around. Honest."

"Don't be silly," Weiss makes her hold up the book, confirming the subject of her fascination. "Books deserve to be read by anyone. It's the reason they are written, isn't it?"

"I guess so." Ruby looks down at the book in her hands, curious to know a bit more about the girl in front of her, but at the same time not wanting to be too obvious. "The author… is she related to you?"

"My sister wrote it a few years ago, soon after she graduated and left this very room. It's about the artistic history of the country of Atlas." She smiles, chagrined. "Well, a brief one, at any rate."

"How brief?"

Weiss laughs softly. "Too brief, if you ask me. There is simply too much history in Atlesian art – as well as Vale or Mistral of Vacuo – to write down into a single volume of text. But, still, Winter tried, and you can't fault her for that. It takes care of the basics, at any rate. I'm surprised she managed to even fit in a chapter detailing Atlesian music." She sighs, "I was surprised she even remembered her lessons…"

"Atlesian music?" Ruby wonders aloud. "I've never heard any."

"It's an endangered art." Weiss explains patiently. "As opposed to the musical styles of, say, Mistral or Vale, Atlesian music is a bit more… dated. You could say it's a little archaic in its design."

"Endangered…" Ruby imagines people stabbing sheets of music with tiny spears and waving torches. "Like the Mistral Nevermore?"

"In essence," Weiss accepts the comparison of the rare – and quite dangerous – animal in stride. "Many of the people who still actively compose, or sing, in the Atlesian style are advancing in their years, and if they don't pass their knowledge onto the next generation – as my mother did with my sister and I – then it will slowly die out and become extinguished, like a candle."

"That's so sad," Ruby says, taking the book back from Weiss and slipping it back onto the shelf. "You said you learned it. Can you sing?" She realizes the stupidity of the question as soon as she asks it. "Well, I guess you must be able to. You said you learned it, after all." She reddens with embarrassment. "Can you… can you sing me something? I'd like to hear it."

"Really?" Weiss beams, clearly thrilled to be asked. "Of course! How about a short aria?" She offers that rhetorically, locking onto Ruby's silver eyes as she begins, straightening her back and lifting her chin.

Ruby listens as Weiss voice starts slow, a trill coming from deep within her throat. It grows and expands slowly, ter tone shifting as the song starts in earnest. There are no words that Ruby can understand, only her voice as she forms her tongue around meaningless vowels and consonants, her lips parting and pursing as she breathes in and out, her song never breaking as she keep eye contact with Ruby.

Finally, after what seems like minutes since she started, Weiss stops and smiles softly. "Would you like to know what the song means?"

Entranced, Ruby can only nod.

"The song is about love, but also torment and pain; for nothing is as hard to gain that which I am seeking, nor any longing that affects me for which I cannot have."

"For when I am with her," she goes on. "I am so astonished that I don't dare share my desire, and when I part, it seems I lose my sense of hearing and my mind. The fairest woman I have ever seen, compared to her, isn't worth all. When the entire world shrouds in darkness, light shines from the place she rests. I shall pray, that I may touch her one day. Or that I may see her sleep. Asleep or awake, I quiver and am startled and shaken by my love for her, and it pleases me when she drives me insane, and makes me gape in stupor. For after the ill, the good will come. If such is her pleasure."

She looks away, as if to hide a blush. "It was written by a composer called Cercemon about eight hundred years ago. Not much of his work has survived."

She then moves toward her desk, leaving Ruby totally and utterly dumbstruck and trying to wrap her head around what had just transpired. Was that a song? Or was that flirting? Maybe that's how Atlesian singers do it. After all, a private recital in a dying art was loads more romantic than your standard pick-up line.

"Alright then," Weiss breaks the silence, gesturing Ruby over towards her desk. "Come over here, and let's get you situated."

Ruby nods, standing to be inspected. She sees a huddle of shadows gather on the other side of Weiss' door, well aware of what that means: they're being eavesdropped on by the other girls.

Well, isn't that lovely.

Either not noticing or not caring, Weiss continues undaunted, blatantly disregarding school policy once more as she takes Ruby by the shoulders and straightens her posture. "Shoulders back, head up." She hooks a finger under Ruby's chin, tilting it upwards. "Show off that pretty face."

Surprised by the authoritative air the girl seems to exude, Ruby does precisely as Weiss asks, but not because she has any inclination to conform to the exacting standards of the school. She merely wants to prove that she actually does have a bust hidden beneath the baggy Atlas cardigan that's hanging limply off her shoulders.

And, of course, as if by silent command, Weiss' eyes do spend quite a bit of time in that area. She flick's Ruby's hair off her shoulders, fussing with the shoulder of the cardigan, trying to get it to sit better.

"This doesn't fit you very well," she concludes with a pout. "Take it off."

Ruby hesitates, scarcely able to believe she heard correctly.

Mistaking her hesitation for embarrassment, Weiss crosses the room to a large wardrobe and flings it open, simultaneously revealing a shelf full of spare Atlas Academy cardigans and her over-the-table intentions.

Not wanting the girl to think her coy, Ruby swiftly unbuttons the ugly cardigan and hands it over. "It's supposed to be my size." She explains.

"I'll bet it is," Weiss doesn't look surprised. She even looks a tad miffed. "Professor Wilkins likes a looser fit on her girls. I've long suspected that she has the company who supply the academy switch the labels on the uniforms."

"Why? Does she have a problem with femininity?" Ruby wonders, catching a glimpse of her hair in the wall mirror, and remembering Wilkins' instruction for her to keep it constrained. "She told me not to wear my hair loose like this, too."

"That's a shame," Weiss mutters absently, checking the label on Ruby's cardigan and selecting one size smaller form the shelf. "It's unfortunate, but our esteemed Headmistress is afraid that sexuality is a distraction from our studies."

"But here you are." Ruby's words slip out before she has a chance to filter them. "I mean, you're so…" she tries to backpedal, but by the wry smile on Weiss' face she can tell it isn't necessary.

"I will say that the headmistress and I never really saw eye-to-eye on anything but the desire to teach. She got along with Winter and my mother better than me." Weiss walks over and dangles the new cardigan on the end of her finger. "I've always thought that she would be better suited to an environment with younger children, away from teenagers and their hormones." She puts a finger to her lips, indicating silence. "But you didn't hear that from me."

Ruby takes the cardigan and puts it on under Weiss' careful watch. This one fits her perfectly, wrapping snugly around her breasts – which pleases her and, from her approving smile, Weiss as well.

"Much better," Weiss nods, swirling her finger around. "Now turn around, let me see the whole package."

Ruby spins in a slow circle, giving Weiss ample time to continue the inspection of her uniform, staring with her shirt collar and tie, picking at a few minor things here and there.

"How old are you?" Weiss asks casually, crouching down to check the hem of Ruby's skirt.

"Seventeen."

"Oh, really?" Weiss sounds surprised, and Ruby cringes. She was always on the younger end of her classes spectrum, at least in looks and size. But Weiss seemed undeterred with that revelation. "You are one of mine then. I'm not sure what Penny told you, but this dorm is taken care of by both myself, and Professor Ansel."

Ruby tilts her head in question. "Aren't you a student?"

"No, I graduated last year." Weiss explains patiently. "But I intend to be a teacher here, so I stayed on part-time, and teach some classes here and there. And help lead my family's dorm, of course. When's your birthday?"

"October. Thirty-first."

Weiss mumbles the date to herself, pinching a loose thread between her fingers. "What classes are you taking?" She changes the subject without skipping a beat, giving the thread a gentle tug.

"Um, History, Physical Education, Biology, Mathematics, Psychology…" Ruby answers softly, wondering just what classes Weiss helped with and if she would be able to see her at all outside of the dorm. "I was taking Music at Beacon, but I dropped out mid-way through the term," she adds, almost apologetically.

"Pity." Weiss looks up at her, flashing a smile. "Well, that's alright. I'll look forward to having you in at least two of my classes."

Ruby frowns, confused. "What classes do you teach?"

"History, Mathematics, and Music." The flawed stitching unravels in Weiss' deft fingers. "Though I have been petitioning the Headmistress to add an Atlesian Art and Music class to the curriculum, but so far I have not found enough interested students for a focus group."

Ruby nods ruefully. "The Music teacher at my old school was awful. I didn't like him at all." She balks at her own words. "N-not that I think you are a bad teacher! I just was… um… never mind." Then a thought runs through her mind. "Is it too late to change my classes to add Music?"

Weiss' lips curl upwards. "You've missed almost half the term already. But I'll see if I can convince Professor Wilkins. You'll have to promise to make the effort to catch up with the rest of the class."

Ruby nods. "I can totally do that."

"And you might have to take some make-up lessons," Weiss warns her, winding the unraveled thread around her index finger. "Maybe even some private tutoring."

It was clearly meant as a warning, but it sounds like an invitation to Ruby.

"With you?" she clarifies, just to be sure.

"Yes," the girl answers with a smile, her fingers still working.

"In that case," Ruby nods, pleased. "I don't mind at all."

"Alright, then." Weiss tugs the thread taut. "I'll talk to the Headmistress first thing in the morning. I hope you won't get tired of me, though. Having me here in the dorm after classes, in Math, History and Music, and private lessons… we'll be seeing alot of each other."

As she says that, she leans forward to break off the thread. Ruby feels her chest tighten when she sees a clear view down Weiss' blouse, albeit fleetingly. In a second, she's back on her feet, retrieving a needle and thread from a nearly cupboard.

"Though, it's strange that you transferred in from Beacon so quickly in the middle of the term," she says, dropping to her knees at Ruby's feet, needle and thread in hand. "Did you have problems there?"

Ruby shrugs stiffly. "My dad thought so."

"Are you a troublesome student, Miss Rose?" Weiss asks, her lips curling into a smirk.

"I don't think so, Miss Schnee."

"Well, that's a relief." Weiss threads the needle with practiced ease. "I'm a lot of things, but I'm no disciplinarian. This dorm runs on mutual trust and respect of one another. Professor Ansel and I set clear boundaries, and we expect you to adhere to them at all times. If you can do that, I think we can get along just fine."

Kneeling closer than before, she takes the hem of Ruby's skirt in her hands and flips it up to expose the underside so she can begin stitching. Her face is right at crotch height, and Ruby can feel the body heat radiating from her as she works. Every now and again, a subtle draft drifts beneath her skirt, cooling her panties and evaporating the moisture there.

She's horribly aroused, and she hopes that Weiss can't smell how uncontrollably horny she is. The throbbing between her legs making her increasingly anxious, she clutches two fistfuls of her skirt and whips her sweaty palms on the soft cotton.

Weiss peers up at her, the sudden shift in Ruby's disposition making her lift her eyebrow curiously. "Anything wrong? Don't worry, I rarely miss with a needle."

Ruby swallows, "N-no."

"Mmm," Weiss hums noncommittally. "You're very cute. Did you have anyone special you left back at beacon?"

"No. No one." Ruby swallows, and whether Weiss is fishing for flattery or not, she pounces on the chance to dish some out. "You're pretty, too."

Weiss arches her eyebrow again, her lips curling up into a smile. "Well, I'm flattered."

_Success!_

There's a pair of scissors in the cupboard Weiss got her needle and thread from, but instead of fetching them when she gets to the end of the seam, she finishes off the stitch and bends forward to cut the threat with her teeth, sending a spike or fresh arousal through Ruby's belly. It's all she can do to keep from gasping aloud, biting on her lower lip as Weiss' warm breath tickles her bare thigh, making her skin prickle with goosebumps.

"There," Weiss rocks back on her heels, admiring her handiwork and seemingly unaware of Ruby's hormonal predicament. "Good as new."

She places a hand on Ruby's hip and runs it down over her thigh and rear several times, smoothing out some slight, barely visible crease in the skirt, pressing firmly, molding her hand to the contours of Ruby's body.

"Do you know how to iron this?"

Ruby felt a shiver ripple through her; Weiss was totally copping a feel! The astonishing moment of quasi-permissible intimacy doesn't last, though. A stern female voice startles the eavesdroppers outside the door, causing the shadows the break. Shortly after, there is a knock.

"Enter!" Weiss calls out, still on her knees.

The woman who enters is much older than either of them. There are flecks of gray in her pinned auburn hair, her face bearing some lines of age, and she's started to widen a bit around the middle. Her ankle-length, colorful skirt looks like it belongs in a teenagers closet, however, and her brown sweater is at least one size too big.

Caught off by Weiss' position on the floor in front of Ruby, she hovers in the doorway, not knowing where to cast her eyes. "Pardon my intrusion."

Completely unconcerned, Weiss gets to her feet, accepting the hand that Ruby offers to help her up.

"Professor Ansel, we have a new student." She squeezes Ruby's hand before letting go. "This is Ruby Rose." She takes Ruby by the shoulder and nudges her forward, presenting her to the woman. "Ruby, this is Professor Ansel, Deputy Headmistress and teacher of Biology."

Ansel smiles politely at Ruby, and then gets down to business. "It's almost nine thirty." She checks her watch to be certain. "Should I show Miss Rose to the rooms?"

"No, I can to it." Weiss dismisses the suggestion with a flick of her wrist. "Though, if you wouldn't mind, could you check on the kitchen? Some of the students and I were baking cookies before I was drawn away."

"Of course." Ansel appears reluctant to go, but doesn't argue.

"We have two dorms here," Weiss explains as she leads Ruby up the staircase. "One for the fifteen and sixteen year olds, and one for the seventeen and eighteen year olds. While Professor Ansel is technically is responsible for the Schnee dorms overall, I help out with the older levels until I am full time, in which case I will take over the entire dorm. That being said, I take care of bed checks, wake ups, and so on. She takes care of mostly everything else."

At the top of the stairs, the hallway branches off left and right: fifteen and sixteen year dormitory to the left, seventeen and eighteen year dormitory on the right, bathrooms adjacent to each. Professor Ansel's private quarters, Weiss' points out, are located at the far end of the younger age dorms, while her own are at the end of the older student's dorms.

As she stops at a large linen cupboard to collect fresh bed sheets and a duvet cover, Ruby breaks away from her to examine the many framed photographs hanging on the walls.

Some are dorm pictures, with Weiss and Ansel standing proudly with the students from the current year, and some from previous years, with Weiss among some of her peers when she was still a student. There was always one or two students who ruin an otherwise perfect shot by looking in the wrong place at the wrong time, and the last year's photograph was no exception. One of the older girls had her head turned partially to the side, her eyes fixed on something obviously far more interesting than the photographer.

Ruby squints, trying to follow the girl's sightline. She appears to have her eyes locked onto Weiss, as does one of other girls – and  _that_  girl Ruby recognizes. She's the rather bedraggled student who came to Weiss' rescue in the lobby that morning.

Going back another few years, there is no Weiss and Ruby quickly loses interest. Other pictures are from various sporting events, where the dorms are pitted against each other to promote friendly competition. Track and Field appears to be a particular favorite, and one of the most recent pictures is of a tall, sporty, red-haired girl sporting a gold head hand and holding up a trophy.

Pyrrha Nikos.

Team Captain.

Track Star.

"Do you run?" Weiss wonders, looking fondly at the picture, hugging and armful of lavender scented linens to her chest. "I get the impression that you are rather athletic."

Ruby's stomach churns at that. The impression was obviously gleaned from caressing her ass and thighs, thus confirming Ruby's suspicion that the rather tactile exploration of her body had fuck-all to do with the wrinkles in her uniform.

"I did a little track at Beacon, but I'm no star," she answers modestly, electricity shooting through her as Weiss' shoulders brush against hers. "How many girls are there here?"

"The Schnee dorm has a capacity of thirty. But as of now, we have twenty-seven: fifteen in the lower age bracket and twelve in the upper." Weiss swings open the door to the older age dorms.

The long, wide room has been partitioned off into fifteen equal cubicles, the dividing walls only four and a half feel high. This gives the girls privacy while sleeping, but allows a teacher to look in on them easily. Weiss says this rather peevishly, her smaller than average stature obviously being a sore spot for her. Ruby can sympathize.

Each cubicle is rectangular, precisely long enough for a single bed to fit snuggle against one wall – completely boxed in on three sides – and wide enough to accommodate a bedside table that has a single lockable drawer to keep valuables and private items, a small dresser, and a twenty-four inch clothing rack on the back on the wall for hanging their uniforms. Besides those few things, there's little else: a waste paper basket, a lamp, and a small mirror on the wall above the table.

"It's not much," Weiss reads Ruby's expression of discontent perfectly, showing her to the third cubicle on the right. "I understand that Beacon has shared dorm rooms for up to four students. But we at Atlas keep things more traditional. However, you can decorate it however you like. You'll find some adhesive in the drawer. No pins, please."

Ruby glances at some of the other cubicles, finding the walls cluttered with everything from shirtless male models to glittery hearts and rainbows. A smaller percentage of the girls has opted for tasteful magazine cutouts of actors or musicians, while fewer still have completely nude female models attached to the walls beside their begs, their vaginas covered with stickers.

One particularly brave girl had even created her own masturbation material. She's filled an entire wall of her cubicle with numerous hand-drawn pictures of a girl that looked shockingly similar to Weiss: long, pale hair, blue eyes, and long, bare legs.

"That's Ciel Soleil's cubicle." Weiss catches Ruby's horrified expression at the artwork and steers her back towards her own space. "She can be a bit… extreme."

Ciel Soleil? Ruby lets that name roll around in her mind for a moment. Soleil… Soleil… Soleil… the girl Weiss was talking to in the lobby? The girl in the last year's photograph with Weiss? Shouldn't she be graduated by now? Unless…

"She's repeating a year?" It's the only conclusion Ruby can draw.

Weiss tilts her head, one eyebrow raised in silent question.

"I, um," Ruby explains. "I recognized her in a photo from last year's dorm picture. She's the girl I saw you with earlier, right? I heard you use her name." She glances back at the naked caricatures adorning Soleil's space. "You don't… care that she's doing this?"

"It's a fantasy. It's perfectly normal to fantasize." Weiss shrugs it off as unimportant. "Haven't you ever had a crush on someone before?"

Ruby's blush says it all. Her cheeks burn with more fury than a wildfire, though not for the crushes she's had in the past, but for the one she's developing right now.

Still, though... ouch. That was cold of Weiss. Wouldn't it be better to let the other girl off easy?

Averting her eyes, Ruby steps inside her cubicle, finding a duvet folded neatly on the floor, a pillow atop it, and her luggage on the bed. While she explores, Weiss stands patiently at the cubicle entryway, still holding onto the linens.

Eventually, "Could you please take these?" the girl holds them out. "I can't reach the bed."

Ruby looks down, finding the toes of Weiss' shoes connecting with a strip of bright yellow tape marking the cubicle boundary.

"What? Do I have to invite you in or something?"

"That's impossible, I'm afraid." Weiss shakes her head. "Your cubicle is the one place on school grounds that belongs entirely to you. Within it, you have complete privacy, and I'm not permitted to enter – even at your invitation."

"Well, that's no fun." Ruby grumbles, taking the sheets and setting them on the bed.

"Of course," Weiss adds quickly. "if I suspect that you are breaking school rules and hiding contraband, I have the right to conduct a search of your cubicle in the presence of a staff member; Professor Ansel, for example."

"Contraband?" Ruby heaves her suitcase up onto the dresser, moving it out of the way so she can make her bed. "What kind?"

Weiss shuggs. "Drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, weapons, explosives, pornography."

"Porn?" Ruby pulls a face. "Are you messing with me?" She shakes out the sheet and lays it over the mattress. "What's the hard with a few nudie pics?"

"Professor Wilkins does not approve."

Ruby rolls her eyes, expecting no less from the aged, one-eyed hag. "All the problems in the world, and she's worried about teenage girls having orgasms."

"My thoughts exactly." Weiss leans on the cubicle wall, sighing heavily. "It's absolutely ridiculous." She pauses, giving some thought as to what to say next. "Maybe she just bitter because she's not getting any herself."

Ruby's jaw drops, not quite able to believe that Weiss would say something like that about the Headmistress – her  _boss_  – and so blatantly. It's both so shocking and refreshing, and the frank turn the conversation is taking triggers her to blurt out:

"I have a dildo in my suitcase."

If Weiss is shocked by the confession, she hides is well.

"Really?" she asks, her tone casual.

"Yup," Ruby unzips her suitcase. "Do you want to confiscate it?"

"No," Weiss answers without giving the matter any thought at all, thus confirming Ruby's opinion on the girl's stance in the war with Wilkins on sexuality. "I actually think your going to need it. If you've read the student handbook you'll know that engaging with sexual relations with anyone on campus – including your peers – is strictly prohibited."

"Why is that?" Ruby steps away from the suitcase, her lips drawn tight. "Because we're all girls?"

Weiss narrows her eyes slightly at Ruby's indignant tone, taking a moment to choose her words carefully. She answers slowly, "The headmistress thinks such activity is… inappropriate."

Ruby mulls that over. Is it sex Wilkins doesn't approve of? Or lesbianism? She turns her focus back to the bed. Not knowing exactly where to begin, she pulls the fitted sheet over near the bottom corner, then over near the top, then realizes she has to take off her shoes and climb onto the bed to complete the task.

In doing so, clambering clumsily over the sheet, smoothing it as she goes along, she feels her skirt ride up in the back. Wondering if Weiss might be inclined to sneak a peek at her while she's like this – because lord knows  _she_ would be – she contorts herself to look at the mirror, hoping to get a glimpse of Weiss in the reflection. She's not disappointed.

Weiss, still leaning on the cubical wall, her chin resting on the heel of her palm, propped up on her elbow, isn't even trying to be discreet. While her expression is tight and controlled – neither revealing interest or apathy – her eyes are most definitely engaged with Ruby's little show.

Ruby bends forward a little more, lowering her body and slipping the sheet over the farthest corner of the mattress. She can't see the mirror anymore, but she's certain she must be holding Weiss' interest. Staying in this position for as long as she can, bent over on her knees and elbows, her ass barely covered, she grins with how naughty she feels.

_Shwip!_

The fitted sheet slips off the bottom corner of the mattress.

"Fuck me," she grumbles, turning around to force it back. When she does that, the top corner makes a bid for freedom, the sheet only getting more and more tangled beneath her as she attempts to straighten everything back out.

Weiss covers her mouth with her hand, clearly attempting to suppress her laughter. What had begun as a moderately erotic spectacle is quickly devolving into an embarrassing comedy show.

Ruby fixes both corners again and yanks the top up to the other end of the mattress, but the bottom corners are already starting to slip. She makes a valiant effort to keep one of the upper corners in place, but Weiss lunges forward to catch the bottom corner, snagging it before it can pop free.

At the same time, Ruby spins around to attack the bottom corner, only to come face to face with Weiss, nearly smacking head first into her.

"Fuck!" Weiss exclains, starting Ruby and recoiling to avoid being head-butted.

She's bent forward, one foot outside the yellow boundary line and one foot inside. She has one hand on the fitted sheet, the other clutching the footboard for balance, and from her vantage point on the bed, Ruby can see straight down her blouse – a much closer look than she'd gotten earlier.

She lets her eyes drop, and then raised then back up, her blush prickling at her ears. "Um…"

Weiss hisses softly, letting go of the sheet and making a swift retreat from the bed.

"Shit," Ruby pouts, the sheet snapping up to hit her in the face.

"Haven't you ever made a bed before?" Weiss straightens her blouse, trying to play things off like everything is perfectly innocent and above board.

"Not… really?" Ruby grins apologetically, her limbs tangled in the sheet. "I kind of slept in a big pile of blankets back home." She rolls over onto her side, kicking to get loose. In the process, she leans over to the edge of the bed, glancing down at Weiss' feet – both of which are well inside the yellow line.

"Oops," she points at them. "Where do I have to go to report you for coming in my safe space?"

She's only teasing, of course, but despite the attempt at levity, Weiss scowls, reaches for Ruby's hand, and tugs her up.

"Off the bed!" she hisses in a hushed voice. "Now!" she pushes her out of the cubicle.

"What are you doing?" Ruby asks.

"What your mother should have done a long time ago." She snatches the fitted sheet and gets it on the bed neatly on the first try, hooking the farthest corners over the mattress first. "Now pay attention."

With genuine interest – the comment about her mother surprisingly not bothering her all that much – Ruby watches Weiss turn the duvet cover completely inside out, put her hands inside to grab the corresponding top corners of the blanket, shaking the cover down over it.

"And there we go," She buttons up the end and spreads it out on the bed. "Perfect." She quickly switches places with Ruby, giving her a firm but gentle shove into the cubicle as she crosses back over the yellow line.

"Now, housekeeping comes in to change the bed sheets weekly. You're responsible for your own laundry – I assume you know how to do  _that_  – and unless you need something dry cleaned. In which case you tag it, bag it, and leave it for pick up. They come by every Friday. Mail is held at a central mailroom; it's your responsibility to report there and collect it at least once a week.

"Your expected to brush your teeth twice a day, shower daily, and keep your hair clean and orderly. I'm sure Professor Wilkins has gone over the rest." Weiss starts rapidly backing away, rushing through what Ruby assumes to be a mental checklist. "Bedtime is at ten o'clock on school nights, eleven on Friday and Saturdays. Lights out fifteen minutes after that."

She checks her watch to confirm the time. "Now, unpack your belonging and get ready for bed. I'll return shortly to say goodnight to everyone."

And, without further ado, she turns on her heel and leaves Ruby alone in the room.

0 – 0 – 0

**End of Chapter 2**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***Will work for glomps***


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Nothing is owned. This is for entertainment purposes only.
> 
> A/N: Somewhat of a short chapter, but as the majority of these chapters were meant to be between 2k-3.5k words (chapter 2 was a fluke, simply because we couldn't decide where to cut it and so we left it long) and have relatively quick updates, I don't think anyone will mind all that much.
> 
> Also. Enter Neon! *Joygasm*
> 
> Enjoy.

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**All's Fair in Love and… well… Love**

_Chapter 3_

0 - 0 - 0

Teeth brushed, belongings put away, black nail polish scrubbed off, Ruby sits on the edge of her bed in a pair of rose-motif pajamas and tank top, watching a tiny spider crawl across the floor of her cubicle. While all around her the other girls in her dormitory giggle and joke and get themselves ready for bed, she tries honestly to recall every bit of dialogue exchanged between herself and Weiss.

She'd gone too far - that much was obvious. Was is the looking down her blouse that did it? Or making the unnecessary joke about reporting her for stepping over the line? Whichever straw it had been that proved to be the last one, Weiss' friendly, and dare she say…  _flirty_ , disposition had done a swift one-eighty, transitioning from casual and endearing to strained austerity in a heartbeat.

"Damn it!" She hisses and jerks her foot, flinging away the wandering spider with her big toe.

Responding to her utterance, a head pops up over the adjoining cubicle wall. An untamed head of red hair - even brighter than Penny's had been, if that was possible - frames a pale face, green eyes gleaming with youthful excitement at the sight of a potential new friend.

"Hey! What's your name?" The girl grins widely, propping her elbows on the dividing wall.

"Ruby."

"I'm Neon. Or Katt, if you like. With two t's. It's my last name so most people call me that." The girl thrusts her hand over the wall. "Why do you look like a kicked puppy? Is this your first time away from home?"

Ruby shakes her head and reaches up to take Katt's proffered hand. "I think I might have upset Weiss."

"Already?" Katt snorts. "How'd you manage that?"

Ruby smiles, chagrined. "I… don't always think before I speak."

"Oh! Well, congrats, you're a teenager." Katt snickers, and Ruby can't be sure, but she thinks she seen a fluffy, pink tail wave into view just behind Katt's head. A Faunus? Huh. Go figure.

"I wouldn't worry though," Katt continues jovially. "I think Weiss is kinda used to it. She did only graduate last year; I think she hasn't forgotten how we teenagers can be. Hell, she technically  _is_  still a teenager, too. So I'm sure even she has her moments." She peers over the cubicle wall at Ruby's belongings, leaning so far forward that she almost falls in and,  _yup_ ,  _definitely a cat Faunus._ "So, where are you from?"

"Vale. Patch."

"Yowza! You're a long way from home! Mom and dad anxious to get rid of ya?"

Ruby snorted indelicately. "Anxious to whip me into shape, more likely."

"Ooh," Katt's eyes widen and she grins toothily. "Are you a bad girl?"

Chuckling, Ruby rolls her eyes. "Oh yeah, I'm such a baaaaad influence. You'd better stay away from me. My intolerance of parental bullshit might just be contagious."

Cutting their conversation short, Weiss returns to the dormitory as promised, her arms laden with a stack of books. She begins on the left side of the room and makes her way down the cubicles, checking each one in turn, making sure everything is in order before signalling her approval with a nod of her head and a succinct goodnight.

She converses shortly with students here and there, asking after their classes and pupils in different dorms and how they are getting along, and instructing a more than one to hang up their school uniforms before turning in for the night.

Afterward, "Good night, Liz."

"Night, Weiss!"

Two cubicles down, Weiss finds a pair of lacy pink underwear in the middle of the aisle. She hooks up onto the toe of her shoe and dangles it in the air.

"Is this yours, Amanda?" she offers it to the girl in the nearest cubicle.

The panties are quickly snatched up.

Weiss reaches the end of the aisle and makes her way down the other side of the room, offering only one reprimand for some spilt nail polish, expressing disapproval for the mess that hadn't been cleaned up before it dried, but making no mention of the fact that it is expressly forbidden. As she approaches Ruby's cubicle, her already fading smile tightened.

"You left these in my study." She holds out the bundle of books she'd been cradling. "If you need anything at all, don't be afraid to come to me," she goes on, her burden of books lifted. "My door is always open to you."

Her words are kind, tender even, but her tone is indifferent. Perhaps the latter is intended to conceal the true depth of the former, but the more she talks, the more kindness and tenderness seem to bleed through her facade, causing an underwear-clad Ciel Soleil to glare at Ruby from her cubicle on the other side of the room. She pretends not to notice.

"I know it can be a difficult transition for someone who's never been in this kind of environment before, but I will do everything in my power to make sure you leave this school with fond memories of your time here." Weiss' eyes never leave Ruby's. "Do you think that's possible, Ruby?"

Ruby swallows, unable to stop herself from blushing. "I… yes. I think so."

"Good. Happy girls make a happy dorm, which makes for a happy school. Which, in turn, makes me happy." With a smile that seems only slightly forced, Weiss turns her attention to Katt. "Neon, you'll take care of Ruby tomorrow, won't you? You have several of the same classes together."

Katt, still kneeling on her bed and leaning over the cubicle wall, nods enthusiastically. "You got it, Weiss."

"I'll let your other teachers know that you'll be helping her out for the next two or three days, so if you're a few minutes late here and there, you won't be marked down."

Katt beams. "Fuck yeah!"

Weiss rolls her eyes theatrically, returning her attention briefly to Ruby. "Goodnight, Ruby."

"Good night, Weiss."

Ruby can't be certain, but as Weiss turns away, she seems to let a genuine smile escape. Has the earlier moment of impropriety now been forgiven? Has the fact that she made an ass of herself - literally - been swept under the rug?

Weiss completes her arc around the room, turns out the lights, and steps into the hallway, the rhythmic sound of her footsteps slowly fading away. Still, Ruby can't shake the feeling that she should apologize for her behavior. In particular, for the lewd posturing and the cheeky taunts. Weiss might be only a little older than her, but she was technically a teacher and in charge. Not that Ruby cared much about appeasing authority figures, but the idea of Weiss not liking Ruby didn't sit well with her.

Unable to get into bed without clearing the air, she tiptoes out of her cubicle and pads barefoot into the hallway, the dormitory door creaking on its hinges.

Already halfway to her private quarters, Weiss comes to a sudden stop.

The hallway falls silent.

Her back to the dormitory, Weiss offers no movement save for the slight turn of her head, waiting for the student to announce herself.

"Um… Weiss," Ruby's quiet voice echoes in the sterile corridor.

"That was fast," Weiss pivots on her heel, otherwise staying put. "Is something wrong?"

Ruby lowers her gaze to the floor, wiggling her toes. The floor is cold against her bare feet, but at that moment is doesn't compare to the frigidness in Weiss' icy demeanor. Nothing does. Was chasing her out into the hallway yet another wrong move on her part? Was she too eager? Too desperate? Well, too late now.

"I… I'm afraid I did something to upset you." Feeling uncharacteristically teary, Ruby dares not look in for fear of being utterly crushed beneath those hardened blue eyes.

Barely a second passes before Weiss melts. Her expression softens, and she strides back toward the down, her entire stance relaxed and open.

"Of course not, Ruby." She reaches her and raised a hand, brushing Ruby's hair out of her face in a gesture that almost seemed… maternal. "Not at all. Why would you think that?"

Ruby looked up, and was relieved to find that there was no more indifference in Weiss' eyes; only acceptance and worry.

"Earlier, you left the dorm so suddenly," she says softly. "I thought I must have done something wrong. I was just kidding when I said I'd report you for-"

"I know," Weiss smiles reassuringly. "You did nothing wrong." She moves her hand slightly, fingers weaving through Ruby's hair. "Nothing. I was the one who conducted myself poorly."

"No," Ruby would shake her head, but she really likes the feeling of Weiss' fingers in her hair. Se she stays put. "You were only helping me, I-"

"Shh," Weiss presses a soft fingertip to Ruby's bare pink lips, letting it rest there for a moment. "It was improper, and that's all there is to it."

Her finger slips away and she extricates herself from Ruby's personal space, taking a small step back. "Now, you must get to bed. I can't make any exceptions."

Weiss' words echo through Ruby's head, bouncing between brain cells. Exceptions? What sort of exceptions? Relaxing the curfew? Touching a student more than 'strictly necessary'? To her ears, Weiss' cryptic assertion sounds more like the reiteration of a mantra that it does a simple warning to a new student. As a recovering alcoholic might look at themselves in the mirror each morning and say "I will not drink today," so Ruby can picture Weiss repeating quietly to herself, "I can't make any exceptions."

Convincing herself of this fact - and that she hadn't imagined the faint undercurrent of determination in Weiss' voice - Ruby breaks away and heads back for the dormitory, wondering just what rules Weiss might be tempted to break if she persisted.

As she reaches the door…

"Ruby," Weiss purrs out her name. "Wait."

Obediently, Ruby halts, her hand on the knob. She can hear Weiss' shoes brushing against the floor behind her, and by the time she spins around, she finds herself practically backed up against the door.

Without saying a word, Weiss reaches up and pinches a few strands of wayward hair from Ruby's head, brushing them back and tucking them behind her ear.

"Good night, Ruby," she whispers, her eyes roving over Ruby's features somewhat reverently. "Sweet dreams."

Ruby shivers as Weiss steps back away from her reach, the warmth of her close proximity dissipating and leaving her with nothing but the lingering sensation of Weiss' fingers in her hair.

"Don't forget to look at your books," Weiss says in parting. "Make sure I didn't forget anything."

Ruby nods numbly, watching Weiss walk away, her skirt clinging to her delightfully spankable ass, then she slips back inside the dorm, tiptoeing quietly back to her bed, trying to draw as little attention as possible.

Once in her cubicle, she retrieves her stack of library books off the floor and - using her scroll as a flashlight - sorts through them, setting aside those she knows she'll need for tomorrow's lessons.

At the bottom of the tile, she finds a paperback that lacks an Atlas Academy Library sticker on the spine. Curious, she flips it over.

Her heart drums inside her chest. It's a copy of  _Atlesian Art: A Brief History_ from Weiss' study, and the first page has a freshly inked inscription:

_Ruby,_

_Explore at your leisure._

_Weiss._

0 - 0 - 0

Sleep doesn't come easy. Ruby lies awake, listening to the sounds of the building as wind blows outside, someone snoring particularly loudly, or a nocturnal bird calls outside.

Soon enough, there's another noice keeping her awake.

"Oh, yes... " a soft, girlish voice mewls in the darkness.

Ruby holds her breath, listening for more. A dream, maybe?

"Oh, Weiss…" the voice whispers louder. "Yes… more!"

Nope, definitely not a dream, then.

The voice is quiet, but it's unmistakable: Its Ciel Soleil. The swish of bedsheets and the squeak of a mattress, and there's little doubt what's going on.

"Oh, I'm going to come…"

 _No fucking way!_  Ruby peels back the covers on her own bed and slowly rises to her knees, peering into the shadows beyond her cubicle. To her right, there's a soft giggle: two other girls are making out beneath the covers. Nice. Something to think about later.

To her left, there's Ciel Soleil… completely alone.

Ruby stifles a laugh. Ceil is lying flat on her back, her nightdress bunched up around her hips, legs spread, her hand working vigorously between her legs.

"Oh, fuck," she breathes huskily, her eyes closed, her voice strained. "I'm going to come so hard for you…"

And then she does.

As her climax hits, Ruby grins and turns away, afraid to do anything - to make any sound at all - and be noticed.

She's about to flop back down in her bed when a flicker of light catches her attention. Left on for safety's sake, in case anyone needs to venture out to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, dim yellow hallway lights illuminate an inch-wide crack beneath the dormitory door, and at this moment, the warm glow seeping through is broken by the movement of a shadowy figure on the other side.

Feet.

There's someone standing near the door, leaning against the door jam.

Ruby squints at the shifting shapes, making out the relative size of regulation academy shoes. It couldn't be, could it? Weiss? Listening to Ciel Soleil masturbate? Holy  _fuck!_

Ruby strains to hear anything beyond Ciel's keening; is Weiss touching herself out there? Is she horny? What  _is_  she doing? Was she just walking by and just happened to hear her name uttered the heat of sexual fervor? Did curiosity compel her to stay?

Was this a common occurrence? Because hot  _damn_  if it is!

Whatever the case, in the wake of Ciel's orgasm, Weiss slinks away, the shadows receding as the house quiets back down to its usual nocturnal rhythm of distant bird calls and snores.

Safe space indeed!

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**End of Chapter 3**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Anybody else think Ciel needs a hobby? Preferably one that doesn't include rubbing one off in a crowded dorm to Ruby's girl? Show of hands, now.
> 
> ***Will work for glomps***


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Nothing is owned. This is for entertainment purposes only.
> 
> A/N: Thanks so much for all the kudos/subscriptions/critiques. It's always interesting to hear other thoughts on how the story is progressing, including questions and comments on how we're handling the characters.
> 
> And now, Weiss gets to have some time in the spotlight!
> 
> Enjoy.

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**All's Fair in Love and… Well… Love**

_Chapter 4_

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Weiss runs her hands over her hips, smoothing her skirt over her thighs. Is it too much, she wonders. No, she shakes her head, dismissing the thought. This is one of her favorite outfits. The sky blue blouse is fitted, and hugs her breasts and waist comfortably. The skirt is snug, but not obscenely short. Definitely not academy regulation, that's for sure. But it more than covers the lacy tops of her stockings, which she wears simply for her own self-esteem rather than for any practical purpose.

The stockings, which are an indulgence she partakes in to offset the school uniform she still sometimes wears out of habit, make her feel feminine and pretty, reminding her that she still is a young woman, and not just a girl in a position of responsibility over a bevy of other girls.

Taking a deep breath, she adjusts the open collar of her blouse and applies a fresh coat of lip gloss, counting down the final seconds until the commencement of the usual morning pandemonium.

"No exceptions," she reminds her reflection, then walks brisky from her room, striding boldly into the dormitory not a minute later.

"Good morning, girls!" She claps her hands several times, making the crack of her palms as loud as possible. "Come on! Wakey-wakey!" She glides down the aisle, leaning over to tug the cover of a duvet off one sleeping girl. "Up, up, Susan." She points a finger at another reluctant waker. "Time to wake up, lazy-bones!"

A cacophony of chatter quickly erupts, Weiss paying no note to the fact that two girls rise from the same bed. When she arrives at Ruby's cubicle, she finds the new girl lying prone, her pillow pulled over her face, a single bare foot poking out from the bottom of her duvet.

"Up you get, sleepyhead." Weiss bends forward and grabs the exposed foot, shaking it gently.

Ruby groans, but does as she's told.

"So, tell me; how was your first night with us?" Weiss leans against the cubicle wall, catching when Ruby's eyes dart up to her opened shirt collar and linger there for a beat longer than is strictly platonic. She doesn't feel like calling attention to it.

"Really good, actually." Ruby sits up and yawns loudly, ruffling a hand through her mane of dark hair.

"You're feeling better about things this morning, then?" Weiss looks over to the bedside table, where the book on Atlesian Art is sitting proudly and prominently.

"Oh, yeah." Ruby rises to her knees and stretches, her tank top lifting to expose a strip of pale flesh just below her bellybutton. Now it's Weiss' eyes that linger there for longer than necessary. Ruby grins slyly as Weiss' cheeks heat a little bit, and she murmurs, "Thank you, Weiss."

"Today, I'll make you breakfast," she carries on her conversation with Ruby perfectly naturally, as if they hadn't just been caught ogling each other. "From tomorrow onward, you can fend for yourself in the mornings. How does that sound?"

Ruby takes a moment to think, and then tilts her head to the side as she recites, "The waiting is what slows me down, The waiting makes me weak. The waiting that draws out my days and keeps me from my sleep. The waiting keeps me dwelling long; gives hopes of nothing more."

She pauses, and then flushes cutely. "I, um… I read that in your book last night. It sounded nice, I thought."

Weiss feels the corners of her lips tug up into a smile. "You're quite adorable, Ruby. Do you always this much of an effort to impress people?"

"No," Ruby answers frankly, shuffling closer on the bed. "Do you always offer to make breakfast for the new girl?"

"Of course." Weiss pushes herself away from the cubicle wall. "Now hurry up, you lazy thing," she quips and walks out of the dormitory without looking back. "I hope you like toast."

In the hallway, Weiss weaves her way through a gaggle of half-naked, squealing girls, her broad smile practically glued onto her face. In contrast, Professor Ansel, who's standing at the top of the staircase leading down, refereeing an impromptu match between two of the younger girls fighting over a towel, looks as though she's already reaching the end of a rapidly dwindling rope - and it's only seven o'clock.

She settles the dispute, sends the girls off to the bathroom, and takes in Weiss' appearance: the fitted blouse and flared skirt, the bright eyes, the upturned lips, and the palpable vivacity practically oozing off of her.

"You look unusually chipper this morning," she remarks, her eyes skimming Weiss from ankles to hair, a hint of suspicion in her tone.

"Because it's a bright, sunny new day." Weiss grins, taking the stairs down two at a time.

She's the first one in the kitchen, and as she fusses around the room gathering bread, a plate and a knife, she hums a song to herself, tuning out everything around her until she hears footsteps approach.

"Since when do you have toast for breakfast?"

Professor Ansel's voice makes her jump.

"It's not for me," she says, recovering quickly and dropping two slices of bread into the toaster. "It's for the new girl."

"Oh yes? And when did we start doing that?" Ansel folds her arms, her hands almost completely covered by the long sleeves of her baggy sweater.

Weiss doesn't reply.

"She's a pretty little thing, isn't she?" The older woman continues to needle, her tone bordering on conversational. "Sort of reminds me of our old Pyrrha Nikos. Not so much in looks, but in attitude. Wouldn't you say?"

Weiss replies with a dispassionate shrug, feigning nonchalance. "I hadn't noticed."

Professor Ansel chortles, slumping against the countertop. "You must think I'm an idiot. I haven't seen you this cheery since-"

Weiss smacks the palm of her hand against the counter sharply. "That's enough!" she hisses quietly. She doesn't dare yell outright at the older woman; it wouldn't do to antagonize her colleague, especially when she is much older and more experienced than her. But she needs to assert herself, and prove that she can stand up for herself when she needs to. "I'm in a good mood, that's all. There's no need to ruin it."

Ansel edges nearer, peering closely at the girl and sniffing. "Is that new perfume?" She moves away from the counter, ready to make her own breakfast. "Watch yourself, Weiss."

When she says Weiss' name, it sounds harsh. To hear it squawked at her that way makes Weiss feel like a naughty little girl being reprimanded by her mother.

Still, it pays to be polite. "Thank you, Genevieve."

The next moment, Ruby enters the kitchen. Arriving before any of the other girls - having rushed through her morning routine for that fair reason, apparently - she's clearly cut some corners with her appearance. Her shirt is only half tucked in, her skirt is twisted sideways, her cardigan is buttoned improperly, and her hair is bound in a short, lopsided ponytail.

Weiss, her good mood restored by Ruby's arrival, suppresses laughter. The remainder of Ruby's hair not tucked into her failure of a ponytail is sticking up in large tufts, having apparently missed the memo that they were to be tied in the back of her head.

"Is that the best you could do?" Weiss beckons her over for a closer inspection.

"Does it look terrible?" Ruby asks, her face despondent. "This was my third try."

Weiss spins her around, checking to see if it could be salvaged. Luckily, ponytails were simple enough. "You'd think you never did anything with your hair before."

"If by  _anything_ , you mean… anything besides brushing it every now and again… then… yes?"

"Dolt." Weiss pats her on the shoulder, amused that a seventeen-year-old girl could get this far in life without learning such a simple thing. "You're so cute."

With that, she tucks a few strands of hair behind Ruby's ear and pulls out a chair from the table. "Sit, eat, and I'll fix it for you."

She sets the freshly popped toast in front of Ruby and fetches condiments from the fridge.

"What do you like on your toast?"

"Um, jam?"

Weiss grabs two jars - one grape, the other strawberry - and leans over the table, sliding them in front of Ruby. In doing so, she is vaguely aware that she is giving her another perfect view down her blouse. Oh well, surely a brief glance couldn't hurt...

"Would you like anything else?" she asks, lingering there for a moment as Ruby tilts her head to look.

She watches as Ruby breathes in, her lungs expanding under her cardigan, her breasts rising and falling. She reaches slowly for the strawberry jam, averting her eyes only when she realizes that Professor Ansel has caught onto the action, and clears her throat pointedly.

"N-no… thank you, Weiss," she answers after a dazed pause.

"Very good." Weiss straightens up, dutifully ignoring Ansel's stare from her place beside Ruby.

_Clank!_

_Thunk!_

Upstairs, a girl skrieks, her cry of displeasure followed by laughter and shouting. Weiss and Professor Ansel share a look, each waiting for the other to respond. Since the noises appear to be coming from the left side of the dorm, it seems reasonable to assume that the younger girls are responsible for the outcry.

"Two of yours, yes?" Weiss urges Ansel to go.

Once the older teacher has cleared the room, Weiss moves around to behind Ruby, trailing a hand light up the girl's arm and over her shoulder.

"You have beautiful hair." She slips the small scrunchie bundling Ruby's hair free. "Other girls would kill for this." She digs her fingers in, dragging her nails along Ruby's scalp.

Ruby offers a soft murmur of appreciation, clearly liking the attention and the feeling of Weiss' finger running through her hair.

Weiss deftly pulls the girl's hair back and gathers it into a neat ponytail, securing the scrunchie. "And there we are." She manipulates Ruby think tresses gently but firmly, giving her a light pat on the shoulder. "I'm sure you can manage yourself from tomorrow?"

Ruby nods, unable to speak with her mouth full of toast.

"When your done, please fix your uniform." Weiss finishes and stands from her chair. "You look like a ragamuffin, and I can't let you leave the dorm like that." She crosses to the other side of the room, pouring herself a cup of coffee from the pot.

"That's not a very healthy breakfast," Ruby points out her, scarfing the last piece of toast and jam. "Want me to make you something?"

Weiss smiles knowingly, holding her cup over her lips to hide her smile from Ruby. "That would be an exception."

Ruby gets up to deposit her plate in the dishwasher, but before she can get past Weiss, two younger girls burst into the kitchen, one chasing the other. Barreling through the room without looking, the girl in front knocks into Ruby's back, shoving her forward and into Weiss, forcing her against the countertop.

More concerned about spilling her hot coffee all over Ruby than she is about the sudden invasion of her personal space, Weiss lifts the cup up and directs it toward the sink.

When the second girl comes in hot pursuit of the first, she knocks the plate clean out of Ruby's hand. It flies through the air, and Ruby lunges for it, but…

Weiss emits a reserved, involuntary ' _oof'_  as their bodies collide, and the impact topples her sideways. Catching her before she loses her balance completely, Ruby makes a grab for anything she can get her hands around, resulting in another stronger ' _oof'_  when her hands grab onto Weiss' rear.

It only lasts a second, but Ruby's hands most definitely groped her ass, and firmly.

Weiss jerks away, spinning to face the two unruly girls.

" _Stop this instant!_ " she snarls, stopping them both with her tone alone. "How dare you disrespect the rules like this! No running!" She stalks over the shattered plate. "And clean up this mess!"

She storms out of the room, and it's the last she sees of Ruby until it's time to depart for class. After taking some time to compose herself, because quite frankly she abhors yelling at her charges for any reason at all - and, perhaps more importantly, she worries about Ruby getting the wrong idea of her so soon after meeting her - she doesn't leave her study until it's time for everyone to leave the dorm.

Taking a deep breath and smoothing down her outfit, Weiss walks out of her study and takes her place by the front door, watching as the girls of the Schnee dorm begin to line up to leave for morning classes. Ruby is lingering at the end of the line, peering over Neon's shoulder. She catches Weiss' eye, and grins widely.

Well, at least she isn't scared off yet. That's good news.

Weiss dutifully inspects each and every one of the girl's uniforms and appearances, making sure they were up to her standards before letting them leave the dorm, one at a time.

Upon passing inspection, she nods her assent and pats a few on the shoulder, one younger girl on the head - which the girl accepts with a cheery grin - and more than a handful with an endearing squeeze of the forearm. Under normal circumstances, such displays of physical affection were frowned upon at Atlas - especially from a teacher - and she's been trying, she really has. But as of yet, she hasn't quite beaten the habit of being somewhat affectionate to her former peers.

"Are you alright, Weiss?"

Weiss jumps, startled, as she realizes that Ruby is the last one in the room besides her.

"What? Since you molested me in the kitchen?" Weiss chuckles. "Trust me, I'll survive." She extends her hands in a cupping motion and captures Ruby's cheeks, turning her head this way and that to examine her. "Now, you pass muster. Would you like a head pat? A handshake? A shoulder squeeze? Take your pick. You have every right to refuse."

After a moment, Ruby grins and dips her head, presenting her forehead to Weiss.

And Weiss, in a moment of self-indulgent impropriety, brings her lips to Ruby's hair instead of her hand. She hears a soft intake of breath from just under her chin, and that alone makes the short, fleeting moment worth it; at least, to her.

Weiss is about to pull away, but Ruby leans forward and draws her into a hug - or tries to. Weiss seizes Ruby's arms before they manage to wrap all the way around her neck, and she brings the attempted closeness to an abrupt and premature end.

"Let's not get carried away." She keeps hold of Ruby's fingers, however, kneading her knuckles softly. "Think of me like… a rainbow," she suggests. "Nice to look at, but always out of reach. Understand?"

Suitably rebuffed, Ruby nods sullenly.

"Thank you, Ruby." Weiss leans forward and kisses her forehead again. "Off you go, now. Don't be late for your first class!"

She hurries Ruby out, sending her off to join Neon, who's been waiting for her at the end of the pathway leading towards the academy proper. She waves the pair off, standing there by the door until Professor Ansel appears at her shoulder.

"Be careful, Weiss," she warns. "You know better than anyone; we have rules for a reason." Her voice was firm, but gentle.

"She just needs to get used to things here. Find her own way, that's all."

Weiss turns away, her smile dissolving, Ansel's unwelcome, but completely justified, advice stripping away her good mood again.

"She'll manage soon enough." The downcast girl breathes through her nose and heads for her study to prepare for her first class of the day. "And so will I."

0 - 0 - 0

**End of Chapter 4**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Oooh is Weiss a rule-breaker? That naughty, naughty girl. And Ruby just seems all sorts of into that. What kind of trouble will these two get into? Only time will tell.
> 
> *Dun dun dunnnnnnnnnnnn*
> 
> ***Will work for glomps***


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Nothing is owned. This is for entertainment purposes only.
> 
> A/N: And we have a quick update for everyone! Joy.
> 
> If it's not obvious from this story, I'm a fan of Neon. She should have been given a bigger part in the show. Fingers crossed for Neon's appearance in Vol 6! :D
> 
> Enjoy

0 - 0 - 0

**All's Fair in Love and… Well… Love**

_Chapter 5_

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The school bell screeches three times in quick succession, starting off the morning break. There is fifteen minutes between classes, in which students can organize their notes for the next lesson, quickly grab a book from the library, or sneak a cigarette behind the indoor swimming pool at the south end of the campus.

"I so owe you," Ruby promises, crouching against the rust-colored brick wall, sucking on the first cigarette she's had in two weeks. "I'll pay you back as soon as my dad sends me my allowance."

"Pshhh, don't worry about it." Katt taps ash onto the ground. "My brother smuggles me in two packs a week, and he's never asked for a lien. He's probably stealing them from somewhere else, anyway."

"Nice," Ruby nods appreciatively. "What else can he get?"

"What else do you want?"

Ruby shrugs. "How do you get alcohol around here?"

When Katt laughs, she snorts smoke through her nostrils. "Oh yeah; you're a bad girl, alright. I like your thinking." She crushes the butt of her cigarette into the dirt. "That what got you into trouble at your old school?"

"I wish," Ruby scoffs, looking away. When Katt doesn't say anything for a few moments, she elaborates. "Let's just say getting caught fooling around with the daughter of a teacher is the quickest way to get you kicked out of Beacon."

Katt cackles, rocking back on her heels. "That'd do it. Thought I had you pegged, leastways."

"Oh yeah?" Ruby smirks. "Don't I just  _ooze_  lesbianism?"

Reaching out to her wrist, Katt flicks Ruby's bracelet just peeking out from beneath her cardigan's sleeve. It's elastic band looped with wooden, rainbow-colored beads. "Well, you don't exactly hide it." Katt remarks dryly.

"Should I?" Ruby shoots back.

"Not to me," Katt replies. "And I don't think you need to worry about the girls in our dorm either. Pretty sure at least half of them are sleeping with the other half. And if they aren't, they sure as fuck want to. But you didn't hear it from me."

With that, she stands, stretching. "Come on, let's go. I've got the munchies."

Ruby takes another puff, flicks the end of her cigarette into a bush, grabs her backpack off the ground, and follows Katt back into the main school building. On the way, they cut through a small courtyard between the swimming pool and the covered tennis court, passing a sculpture at the center.

The imposing metal artwork is over eight feet high and comprised of two sets of metal spirals. They start from narrow points at the top, gradually winding as they twirl towards the ground, and there are three distinct ribbons entwined in each set: gold, blue, and purple. A pair of frilly panties are dangling on the upper tip of one of the spirals.

"Oh, that's cool." Katt glares up at the underwear. "Really respectful."

Ruby studies the base of the sculpture, finding a dedication to Pyrrha Nikos.

"Who's this Pyrrha chick? And what makes her so special?" She brushes a fallen leaf off the plaque. "I've seen her picture in the dorm."

"She was a student here last year."

"She was what… a gymnast?" Ruby guesses, pinging one of the metal swirls with a fingernail. "Ribbon twirling or something?"

Katt nods. "And track. And tennis. And swimming. All sports, really."

"Where is she?"

"Gone, and you'd be doing yourself a favor by not talking about her. Especially not to Weiss." Katt grabs Ruby's hand, clasping her tightly. "And now, food! Lez' gooooo!" She drags her new friend through the side door into the main building, their rubber-soled shoes slapping against the tiled floor.

Rounding a corner much too fast, they nearly run headlong into Weiss.

"Whup!" Katt skids to a halt, Ruby slamming into the back of her.

"Slow down!" Weiss, arms laden with textbooks, snaps. A book slips from her grasp, and she bends to retrieve it, grumbling, "pay attention, please. Everyone is always in such a hurry."

Crouched before Katt and Ruby, she glances up to flash the pair a stern glare, but her attention is snagged instead by their interlocked fingers, and Ruby's rainbow-colored bracelet around her wrist.

"Sorry, Weiss!" Katt starts backing away. "But it's a sugar emergency!"

"Stop." Weiss sets her books on a table of school pamphlets and calls them back.

She places a hand around each of their necks and tugs them forward, down, and together, bringing their faces almost to her chest as she leans over them, smelling their hair.

Oops. Busted.

She releases them, holding her hand out to Katt, palm up. "Do not make me ask."

Katt doesn't. She reaches into her backpack and hands over the cigarettes.

"Thank you." Weiss picks up her books, sets the cigarettes on top of the pile, and holds the bundle to her check, concealing the confiscated goods. "That's the third time in as many weeks, Neon. You're getting sloppy."

"I'm eighteen now," the girl grumbles.

"But the school still forbids it. Now go freshen up before class." She steps aside to let them pass. "You have me in"-she checks her watch-"four minutes."

"Alrighty!" Katt drags Ruby away by the hand.

"Walk, don't run," Weiss calls out as they depart. "And be more careful." She fixes her stare on their held hands. "You know how Professor Wilkins can be."

Ruby tries to stammer out an apology to Weiss, but Katt yanks her around the corner and Weiss isn't looking anyway. They stop at a vending machine full of snack food, and Katt shoves in enough coins to get a large chocolate bar.

"Om, nom, nom." She tears open the wrapper and digs into the candy. "Better than sex."

Ruby rolls her eyes at her friend's enthusiasm and glances over the machine's offerings, nothing really sparks her interests until she spots a row of rainbow candy-coated, chocolate pieces.

_Think of me like… a rainbow._

Weiss' words earlier that morning, spoken softly but sterny when Ruby had attempted to hug the older girl, leap into the forefront of her mind and stayed there, so she plugs in some coins, and a bag drops down into the tray. Delving into her backpack for more money, she inserts all the coins she has and selects another bag.

And another.

And another.

And another, until she's drained the entire machine of rainbow candy.

"Holy shit! You got a sweet tooth today, or what?" Katt watches Ruby scoop them all out of the tray, struggling to hold them all.

"Something like that. Where can I get a bowl?"

Without skipping a beat, Katt strides over to the table of pamphlets, dumps out a bowlful of cheap, complimentary Atlas Academy pins, and passes the empty dish to Ruby.

"Whatcha up to? Who's this all for?" She watches, bemused, as Ruby dumps the candy out of their bags and fills the bowl.

"Weiss." Ruby says, digging into her backpack for a notepad and a pen.

"Sucking up already?" Katt snorts. "And why candy? Kinda weird, isn't it? I thought the tradition was an apple?"

Ruby scribbles out a note. "Mmm, it's kind of a private joke."

"How the hell do you have a private joke with Weiss?" Katt pulls a face. "You've been here less than twenty-four hours."

The bells rings for the next class.

Ruby snatches up the bowl and lets Katt lead the way to their classroom, where she sets the offering on the teacher's desk, propping the note in the middle of it.

"You're gonna catch hell when the other girls find out about this." Katt grabs her arm and tugs her to a desk in the middle of the room. "They're gonna think you're kissing her ass, or something."

"I'm not trying to-" well, she definitely wouldn't mind that… "-kiss her ass, I'm apologizing."

"What for this time?" Katt shoves Ruby into a seat next to her. "Don't worry about the cigs. She doesn't care about those. She never reports anyone."

"It's not that."

"What, then? Your mouth's been running off with you again?"

"Something like that." Ruby organizes her books like a diligent student - or at least, what she expects one to do. "How can I tell if she likes me?"

"Um, did she yell at you and glare at you like she hates you?"

"No."

"Then she likes you. Honestly, she likes everyone." Katt snickers, glancing over her shoulder at someone else in the class before dropping her voice to a murmur. "Just be careful; you don't want to get Ciel all pissy."

"What? Why?" Ruby cranks her neck around to peer at Ciel in the corner. "What's it to her?"

"She takes offense at anyone else sucking up to Weiss. Thinks she's hers, or something."

With the clatter of pencil cases and the crinkle of notepaper dying down, Weiss breezes into the room, making a beeline to the teacher's desk. Upon her entrance, the girls all stand respectfully, waiting to receive the command to sit.

The command is somewhat late in coming, however, as Weiss reaches her desk and catches sight of the colorful bowl of candy. She sits, plucking the note from within.

Ruby watches as Weiss eyes slide across the paper, reading out the simple ' _I'm sorry…_ ' on the front.

Then she flips it over.

' _But I bet rainbows taste delicious_

_Ruby'_

Immediately, Weiss' lips twist in what is clearly an attempt to fight off a smile, but failing. Nor can the fail to hide the blush that blooms on her cheeks, which only darken further as her eyes dart to to find Ruby sitting there, grinning at her.

Weiss breaks away her gaze from Ruby, looks resolutely out of the window. It takes several seconds for her to compose herself enough to clear her throat and bark out the word "Sit."

While the students settle themselves in their chairs, Ruby watches as Weiss crosses her legs, shifts again in her seat, and grabs a small stack of papers to fan herself, making an offhanded complaint about the temperature of the room.

Clearly enthralled by the display from the young teacher, Katt angles herself toward Ruby and whispers in her ear, "What the shit did you write in that note?!"

Ruby doesn't answer; she's too busy trying to ignore the throbbing between her legs as Weiss' eyes meets hers, and she can't help the shit-eating grin that creeps across her face when Weiss slides the note over to one side of the desk. She doesn't throw it away, or hide it in a drawer - instead, she leans it against a stack of textbooks beside her.

Further appreciation comes unexpectedly when, during a silent study period before lunch, Weiss gets up from her desk and weaves her way through the rows of students, peering over their shoulders to check on the progress of their work.

At Ruby's desk, without adjusting her pace, she skims her hand over Ruby's shoulders, from right to left. It begins much the same as their light contact had at breakfast, but this time, she doesn't stop. She gives Ruby's shoulder a gentle squeeze, then tickles her fingertips over Ruby's neck, beginning just below one ear and finishing below the other. From there, she slides her hand down Ruby's left arm, then drifts away, moving on to another desk, clasping both hands behind her back.

This small, yet sensual gesture makes Ruby gasp and shiver in her seat, and while it goes unnoticed by most of the class, there's one particularly attentive girl who witnesses the entire demonstration of familiarity:

Ciel Soleil.

0 - 0 - 0

Following a rather unimpressive dinner of vegetarian lasagna in the cafeteria, Ruby joins Katt in the dorm study room for a mandatory hour of silence homework, then the pair retreats to the kitchen for a bowl of ice cream. A mix of older and younger girls are milling around the common room at this time, watching television, still doing their homework, listening to music, or reading.

Done marking her classes coursework, Professor Ansel swoops into the common room and takes charge of the television, thus preventing the outbreak of war for what channel to ultimately watch, but causing an exodus of discontented girls to flood the halls when she changes the channel to a marathon of historical documentaries.

In the wake of this disruption, Weiss - now also done with her evening paperwork - approaches the newest addition to her house.

"There you are." She pokes her head around the kitchen doorway, finding Ruby and Katt slathering their ice cream in strawberry and chocolate sauce respectively. "I've been looking for you."

The two girls start to rise from their chairs, but Weiss waves her hand.

"No, no," she insists. "I don't want to interrupt, but Ruby, I'd like to see you in my study when you're finished here." Her eyes flit to Katt, then back to Ruby, her face in a tight smile. "Take your time, okay?"

Weiss is gone in a flash, and Ruby is left wondering what more she could have possibly done wrong on her first day. Gobbling up her ice cream fast enough to give her a mild headache, she cleans herself up and knocks on Weiss' study door less than ten minutes later.

"Come in!" is the welcoming response.

Somewhat shyly, Ruby opens the door and steps inside, finding Weiss seated behind her desk. With her hair pulled back and her blouse buttoned up neatly, she looks quite bookish and conservative, but that changes quite dramatically when she sets aside her pen and stand, tugging the elastic band out of her hair and letting it fall loosely over her shoulders.

 _Holy shit on a shingle_ , Ruby swallows and tries to reign in her rampant arousal at the mere sight of her.

Weiss has shed her jacket, her blouse clinging to every curve. It's tight around her bust, but the imprint of her bra is showing through, hinting at the presence of two slightly erect nipples.

This girl is not conservative or bookish.

She's a fucking tease.

"I spoke to Professor Wilkins about changing your classes," she says, leaning back on the front of her desk, waiting for Ruby to close the door before she continues.

"Is it bad news?" Ruby assumes, already steeling herself for disappointment. "She said no?"

"Not quite." Weiss invites Ruby over to the leather sofa. "I've been instructed to test your proficiency before I'm allowed to accept you into the class." She sits on the far end of the soda, swiveling to face Ruby but leaving a cautious distance between them.

"Oh!" Ruby breathes a sigh of relief. "Great! Um, how do we do this, then? Do I have to take some kind of test?"

Weiss' lips curl up into smile, as if she had a secret she wasn't quite willing to part with. "Instead of subjecting you to a test, I thought the best way to do this might be to see what you know"-she pauses for emphasis -"orally."

_I bet the rainbow tastes delicious._

Ruby can't help it; her note to Weiss springs back into her mind at full force, and to make matters worse, the bowl of candy is placed right there in the center of the coffee table by their knees.

This is revenge, Ruby realizes, her cheeks prickling with heat. She made Weiss blush in class, and now this is some kind of payback.

Totally justifiable payback.

"Wh-I sh-" Ruby stammers, trying and failing to keep her mind away from the thought of oral sex. "I… this is… gah." She blows air through her lips in a heavy pant, and rests her hands on her knees, determined not to fidget.

Sensing the girl's discomfort, Weiss laughs brightly, easing up from mer teasing. "Tongue-tied?" She kicks off her shoes. "Not a very good way to begin."

"What do you, um… what do you want me to speak about?" Ruby recovers herself somewhat.

"Anything, as long as it's art or music related." Weiss tucks her feet beneath herself, causing her skirt to ride up a few more inches. "Tell me what you know of the subject, and I'll judge whether or not you can keep up with me." Her lips tug into a smirk, and Ruby knows she is in for one hell of a test.

Over the course of the next hour and a half, Ruby and Weiss talk about everything they know on the subject of art. Ruby is surprised about how much she knows - and remembers from her half-completed classes - and clearly impresses Weiss on more than one occasion about the more esoteric niches of music. She divulges that she once played the piano, which piqued Weiss' interested that she had such a useful skill, but hadn't played for a long time.

"I don't even think I remember anything worthwhile," Ruby mutters, feeling depressed at Weiss' crestfallen expression after she explains her lack of practice.

All in all, though, she demonstrates more than enough aptitude to be included in Weiss' class, and the conversation flows so easily between them that the true objective of their little test is nearly forgotten altogether. It is not until Weiss finds herself stifling a yawn that she thinks to check the time.

"I can't believe it's almost been two hours!" She looks twice at her watch, just to make sure it wasn't broken. "It's nearly time for curfew!"

"Well, how did I do?" Ruby smiles sheepishly. "Am I good enough for you? Do you want me?"

The double entendre is blindingly obvious, but Weiss ignores it.

"You are more than good enough, Ruby. In fact, I don't even think you need private tutoring at all," she threatens, her smile taking the sting out of her words. "You already seem to have a firm grasp on things."

Ruby's mind flashes back to the kitchen that morning, when she held Weiss' behind with both hands, wishing she'd had the nerve at the time to squeeze.

On that note, "I think my grasp could be a bit firmer."

Weiss' self-control was strong indeed, if she could ignore the blatant lines being fed to her. Even though she's just as guilty of setting Ruby up for the lines, she concentrates on the topic at hand.

"I actually enjoy this; talking to you about art. Not many of the other girls are willing to put up with it. It's not a very popular topic these days." She holds Ruby gaze steadily with her own. "I look forward to our time together."

Pouncing on the thinly veiled confession that Weiss likes - and wants - to spend more time together, Ruby feels brave enough to offer up an admission of her own.

"I really like spending time with you, Weiss." Ruby murmurs, all her attention riveted by the older girl's pink lips. "You're… really nice. And when I'm close to you, I feel-"

Weiss, interrupting her before Ruby could go any further, slides forward on the sofa and presses her hand to Ruby's cheek.

"Shh, Ruby," she says softly. "I think you have found a way into my affections already." She drops her hand into Ruby's lap, patting her thigh. "But we have to call it a night, I'm afraid."

She slips on her shoes and gets up from the sofa without allowing Ruby any chance to respond, then prepares to show her eager pupil to the door. Ruby follows her off the sofa, but doesn't take any steps forward.

"Is there something wrong?" Weiss doubles back.

"No… just-" Ruby pauses, bites her lip, and then moves forward, lifting her arms to wrap around Weiss too quickly for the older girl to react to. Ruby slides her arms around Weiss' neck - as she'd tried to to that morning - and sinks into the girl's chest with a desperate sigh of longing.

Too shocked to respond appropriately, Weiss stands rigid, a sharp intake of breath trapped in her lungs. She doesn't reciprocate, much to Ruby's disappointment, but neither does she push away.

"What are you doing?" she whispers, reaching tentatively for Ruby's waist. "This isn't allowed." Her hands skim the contours of Ruby's body, sweeping around her back, one hand remaining there while the other glides up to caress her shoulder.

More telling than her words are, Weiss does not end the embrace.

"This is not allowed," she whispers again, her cheek pressing into Ruby's hair.

Emboldened by the lack of a rebuke, Ruby nuzzles her face into the hollow of Weiss' neck, inhaling the sweet scent of her perfume.

"You're so beautiful," she murmures, her face tilting so she can brush her lips over Weiss' collarbone before closing in, laying a single kiss to her skin.

As perhaps was the intention, Weiss is so focused on the feeling of Ruby's mouth on her collarbone that she doesn't even realize that one of Ruby's arms is slowly falling from around her shoulder, a daring hand sliding brazenly toward her breast. But when her fingers make contact with the thin fabric of her blouse…

"That's enough!" Weiss captures the wandering hand, swiftly separating herself from Ruby, her chest heaving and her cheeks a bright pink. "You should be getting ready for bed. We've been alone for far too long already." She steps around Ruby and marches her to the door. "Bed check in five minutes."

Ruby stands along in the hallway for a few moments before silently ascending the stairs. Not sure whether to conclude that her private time with Weiss ended on a positive note or a negative one, she simply brushes her teeth and goes straight to bed.

From her cubicle, she can see two girls - the same pair as the night before - fooling around, squished into the same tiny bed. They're kissing, giggling and whimpering, one's hand up the other's nightdress.

"Boo!" Katt thrusts her head over the dividing wall to Ruby's left, flashing a fanged grin. "What did Weiss want with you? You were in there for a while!"

Ruby shrugs. "Just some stuff about my class enrollments." She tips her head to the overly amorous pair. "Aren't they worries Weiss will catch them doing that?"

"Pfft!" Katt sticks her tongue out. "They just like to tease, is all. But if you ask me, I think it's pretty cruel. They could just as well keep it somewhere private."

"Cruel?" Ruby lays her pajamas out on her bed. "Why?"

"After what happened with Pyrrha? Shit, I'm shocked Weiss can still stand to look at us, never mind be as nice as she is. I think I'd wanna get my tail out of here if I was her. But hey, I've got a soft spot for her; she's always been really good to me. Which is more than I'd except, being a Faunus and all."

Before Ruby can press her to elaborate, the dormitory door opens and Weiss - her jacket back on and buttoned up - announces her arrival for bed checks. Seemingly in a rush to get this chore over and done with, she walks briskly down the aisle, hurrying through her goodnites with the odd "Pick that up," or "Please clean that in the morning," thrown in.

When she gets to one conspicuously empty cubicle, she plants her hands on her hips and calls out the girl's name, drawing the horny teen away from her would-be bedmate.

"Say goodnight and get back to your own bed, Haley."

The girl does as instructed, giving her lover a long parting kiss, with tongues and all, that has a few other girls whistling their approval. Weiss keeps her eyes on them from beginning to end, only flicking her eyes around the room once and catching Ruby's gaze for a split second.

When Haley finally slips back into her own cubicle, Weiss whips her behind with a discarded towel she picks up off the floor.

Haley squeals. "Would you like a goodnight kiss, too, Weiss?"

For one shocked second, Ruby thinks she just might.

Weiss slings the towel over the cubicle wall, grabs Haley's chin, and tilts her head down. Nevermind the fact that Weiss is a full head shorter than her charge, the entire action is pretty damn intimidating.

"Watch your mouth, you cheeky girl." A smile twitches at the corner of her lips and she releases Haley, resuming her nightly arc of the dorm.

At Ruby's cubicle, she slips a hand inside one of her jacket pockets and fishes out something small, concealing it in her palm.

"So, how was your first day?" she asks, stepping as close to the yellow line as she can without actually entering Ruby's space. "It's a lot to adapt to, I know." She takes Ruby's hand in hers in a reassuring touch. "It'll take some time to get used to the boundaries we all must stick to."

Ruby feels a slip of paper press into her palm, and she holds it there with her thumb as Weiss withdraws, giving away nothing of their silent exchange.

Her heart pounding impatiently, she waits for Weiss to completely the bed checks and turn out the light before she makes a dive for her bed. Even then, she waits until the room falls silent - the sound of Weiss' shoes departing down the hallway - before she slides her scroll out from underneath her pillow and uses its glow to read the secret bedtime note.

_R,_

_You are a tease, and you make me weak,_

_But if you weren't here, then to smile, whom would I seek?_

_W._

Lying there, holding the poem to her chest, Ruby stares up at the ceiling, all too aware of the distinct heat and throbbing between her thighs. It's been days since she's had the opportunity to tend to certain physical needs, and until this moment, it hadn't really occurred to her how having to share a dorm with eleven other people might negatively impact her ability to rub one off in private.

She considers sneaking into the bathroom for a quicky, but she can't be bothered to get up. She also considers setting her alarm twenty minutes earlier than usual and slipping into the bathroom before anyone else is awake, but she knows she'll hate the idea in the morning. Instead she decides to do as Ciel had done last night: wait until everyone else is likely to be asleep, then get down to business.

Quieter than Ciel had been, naturally.

Replying to some friends from Beacon on her phone - even though the use of electronics is forbidden after light out - she lets twenty minutes tick be.

Twenty-one.

Twenty-two.

As she hits the half and hour mark, the anticipation of her impending orgasm has her wetter than she can stand, and she can't hold it off any longer. Setting her phone down, she slips her hand under the blankets, inside her pajama bottoms, and between her legs. Unfortunately, as she smothers a deep gasp and whimper at her own touch, someone else in the room lets one out.

Ruby freezes. No. Again? Couldn't be. Ciel?

"Oh, Weiss… fuck me..."

Yup.

Growling, Ruby pulls her hand out of her pants, climbs up on her knees, and prepares to throw something at Ciel head, but once she's high enough to look over the cubicle wall, her eyes are drawn immediately to the doorway.

The shadows are there, just like last night.

_Weiss!_

Did she return out of curiosity? Hope for a repeat performance? Sheer coincidence? Whatever the reason for her reappearance, tonight, she leaves well before Ciel reaches her peak.

0 - 0 - 0

**End of Chapter 5**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Ruby certainly doesn't waste any time, does she? Girl on a mission, here...
> 
> I want some skittles or something. Om nom nom.
> 
> ***Will work for glomps***


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Nothing is owned. This is for entertainment purposes only.
> 
> Enjoy.

0 - 0 - 0

**All's Fair in Love and… Well… Love**

_Chapter 6_

0 - 0 - 0

Two weeks pass.

Every single evening, flirtatious glances are exchanged across the cafeteria.

Every single evening, Weiss always seems to find a seat that directly faces Ruby, and she chooses to believe that Weiss is doing it on purpose.

Every single evening, Weiss continues to invite Ruby into her study for private tutoring. She makes token explanations that it is to better help acclimatize Ruby to her music class - which she succeeded in joining midway through the semester - but what begins as something mildly unnecessary gradually becomes more and more pointless as the days pass.

They talk about music, for the most part, but Weiss' syllabus notes quickly move from directly on her lap to the coffee table, and then never leave her desk. The ratio of their conversation topics start to vary, and there's a great deal of laughter stemming from amusing anecdotes from Ruby or Weiss' childhoods. Weiss talks about herself at least as much as Ruby does, and their conversations move from the sofa to the floor as the young teacher starts pulling out photo albums from the bookshelf to illustrate her stories.

"I'm born and raised here in Atlas," she explains as she shows Ruby pictures of her youth; everything from her family, to her childhood home and her days as a younger student. "But there was a time I considered going abroad to Beacon Academy instead of staying here."

"What changed your mind?" Ruby asks, both extremely curious and disappointed that she could have had the chance to meet Weiss if they had both gone to Beacon.

"Atlas is in my blood," Weiss sighs softly. "The gloomy weather, the snow and ice during the winter season," then she grins. "And I can't very well continue to study Atlesian Art if I'm so far away from its origin, can I?"

"I still can't believe you are able to follow it all." Ruby shuffles a few inches closer to better see the album, their backs leaning against the bookshelf, their shoes cast off by the desk. "I've been reading your sister's book, and I can barely follow it."

"Yes, well," Weiss sniffs. "Winter has always been a bit wordy with her explanations. It's why she is not a teacher. I was the one who got more out of our lessons."

"And so modest, too." Ruby flips the page.

In the next set of pictures, Weiss is clearly still a student at Atlas. She is wearing the regulation uniform, surrounded by her classmates and friends. Her smile is wide, and she looks to be having fun doing a number of different activities and sports. "You ran?" Ruby asked, catching a photo of Weiss in a track outfit.

"In my last two years. I was passable at it; I mainly stuck with it for the exercise.

Ruby ' _hums_ ' and turns the page again, this time spotting another handful of pictures of Weiss with a tall, familiar looking red-headed girl. The two appear close, often photographed holding hands or embracing. In one photo, there are kissing.

"Girlfriend?" Ruby asks, trying to keep her tone as neutral as possible, hoping the question sounds like merely a casual interest.

"Used to be."

"You're gay?"

"And you're nosy." Weiss snaps the album shut, playfully trying to trap Ruby's fingers in the pages.

"Hey, I'm just curious," Ruby defends herself. "I didn't think it was okay to be out on campus; is that why you won't say?"

"No one is 'out' on this campus," Weiss confirms simply. "So be discreet."

"With what?""

"With Neon. I can see the two of you have gotten pretty close since you started." The smile that had been firmly pinned on Weiss' face fell away. "I can promise you that you won't ever be chastised for anything you two do in this dorm; but everywhere else, we must all play by Professor Wilkins' rules."

Ruby shakes her head. "Katt and I are just friends. I don't like her like  _that_." She twists sideways to look at Weiss. "But I  _am_  gay, if that's what you're wondering. If that was your way of asking."

"It was not." Weiss reaches out and flicks the rainbow bead bracelet on Ruby's wrist.

"That doesn't have to mean I'm gay," Ruby says, stroking the back of her had down Weiss' arm before she can pull away. "Maybe it just means I like rainbows."

Weiss rolls her eyes and diverts her attention to the closed album in her lap, picking at a dented corner of the binder. "Why would you be interested in something you can never get your hands on?" she finally asked, her voice soft.

"Because chasing it's half the fun." Ruby lifts the album out of Weiss' lap, pushing the distraction away. "Besides, rainbows want to be chased."

"Really? You think so?" Weiss turns her head to look at Ruby, blue meeting silver.

"Uh-huh. Nothing that beautiful likes to be ignored, I figure." Ruby edges a little closer. "Plus, if it didn't like the attention, it wouldn't flaunt itself."

She reaches up and pinches the open collar of Weiss' blouse between her fingers, easing the fabric aside, baring the pale skin of her collarbone and the very top of her cleavage, looking but not touching.

"Ruby," Weiss' breath is coming out heavy and slow. She remains decidedly motionless, only parting her lips to whisper out "please…"

Not sure if it's meant as a supplication or a warning, Ruby hedges her bets and drops her hand to Weiss lap, seeking out the older girl's fingers, creeping her own over the top of them.

"Don't do this." Weiss slips her hand away. "Please don't tempt me. Can't you see how much I'm already struggling? How much I want to but-" She stops herself from saying anything she can't take back and turns her head away, breaking the moment between them.

"That's all for tonight. Bed check in ten minutes."

"All right." After two weeks of the same routine, Ruby knows better than to argue with her. "I'll see you upstairs in a few minutes." And, gathering her dignity with her, Ruby climbs to her feet and retrieves her shoes, leaving silently.

0 - 0 - 0

Ironing appears to be a skill that one must acquire through practice, Ruby concludes, growling with frustration at a shirt that refuses to rid itself of its creases. She's been in the laundry room wrestling with the same uncooperative garment for far too long, and her patience is wearing thin.

Last night's session with Weiss had ended on a high note that stuck with her until morning, right up until she received a dress code warning from Professor Wilkins, who told her that she looked like a guttersnipe and ought to sharpen herself up before she winds up with detention.

Well. That's awesome.

She'd run out of clean shirts several days ago, was forced to do a wash, and thought she could get away with simply hanging them up to dry, figuring that the wrinkles would eventually fall out of them.

Evidently not.

She lays the buttoned up shirt out over the ironing board again and drags the iron from collar to hem, catching on every button along the way.

"Mother fucking son of a cock-sucking-" her string of curses catch in her throat as Weiss appears in the doorway. "Oh, shit," she says instead, glancing at her watch. "Am I late for our… um, thing?"

Weiss shuts the door and leans against it, tapping her fingers on the wood, clearly thinking of what she is going to say before she speaks."It's time for our lessons to end."

"Oh." Ruby's shoulders droop. "Why?"

"I think you can imagine why." Weiss takes a step closer, then hesitates, appearing to contemplate something before apparently coming to a decision that announces itself with a heavy sigh of resignation. "Have you never ironed something before?"

Ruby shakes her head. "I'm not even sure my sister has." She makes another half hearted attempt with the iron, but achieves nothing.

Without another word, Weiss strips off her jacket, flings it over the washing machine, and crosses the room, moving behind Ruby and out of sight, her shoes sounding rhythmically on the tiles.

Then, the footsteps stop.

Silence.

Ruby is about to turn and ask for help when,suddenly, she's encased by arms. Weiss is at her back, pressed up against her, close enough for the warmth from her body to seep through their thin layers of clothes, moving slowly and precisely.

"I can't bear to watch you like this. It's almost painful." Weiss reaches around Ruby's waist, sets the iron aside, and takes the shirt in her hands. "Like standing there while you struggled to make your bed on your first night."

Her voice was soft and sweet, like a candy that Ruby wanted to pluck out of the air and pop in her mouth, chewing it until it trickled down her throat and warmed from the inside out.

"It's torture to see you like that." Weiss leans over and teases the shirt open, unfastening one button at a time, as if the shirt were on Ruby's body and she were undressing her. Weiss' breasts were pressing up against Ruby's shoulder blades, her lips grazing at her ear. "You understand what I want, my dear?"

Ruby nods, feeling blood rushing between her legs in response to Weiss' highly inappropriate term of endearment. Reacting instinctively, she tilts her head, baring her neck and offering her bare skip to Weiss for kisses, should she feel inclined to give them.

She doesn't.

_Curses._

"You're going about this all wrong," Weiss says, instead nuzzling her cheek against Ruby's head, clinging to the ruse the shirt provides the both of them as she drapes it over the ironing board. "Let me show you."

She flattens one half of the shirt out, starting with the buttoned edge, and nudges Ruby to retrieve the iron from its cradle.

"You start like this," she explains, placing a hand over Ruby's on the iron's handle. "And you have to move slowly." She guides Ruby over the fabric. "Don't force it." The iron sizzles softly over the cotton. "Don't rush it." She weaves the tip of the iron in between the buttons. "Please, don't rush. You have to give the heat time to build." She bears down slightly on Ruby's hand. "And now you apply a little more pressure."

"Like this?" Ruby presses harder on the iron, simultaneously arching her back and thrusting her rear against Weiss' crotch.

"Mmm." Weiss nods and brings a hand to Ruby's hip, letting it rest there. "You're doing very well. More."

Ruby's breasts tingle beneath her uniform, her nipples swelling and stiffening with arousal. She knows full well that Weiss' words are vague and could be taken the wrong way; completely open to interpretation. In the case of her ironing, it almost legitimizes the subsequent, and more obvious appreciation of her actions: that she likes what Ruby is doing to her.

Almost, but not quite there yet.

Capitalizing on the back-and-forth movement of the ironing - and doing her bit to maintain the subterfuge - Ruby keeps in constant motion, repeatedly pushing her backside against Weiss' hips. This goes on for a minute or two, slow but steady progress being made on the shirt, and then Weiss withdraws her hand from the iron.

An audible sound of disappointment espaces Ruby's lips, her confidence faintly shaken. Has Weiss had enough of their game? Is she bored? Is Ruby not good enough?

"Keep going," the girl insists in her ear, and moving her free hand to Ruby's other hip. "Slowly."

Apparently far from being bored, Weiss is not using both hands to actively direct Ruby's thrusts against her. Delighted with the turn their chore had taken, Ruby pushes back harder, grinding herself into the older girl. In response, Weiss tightens her grip, the friction between them increasing as she rocks her own pelvis forward, subtly and gently causing Ruby's thrusts to have a more immediate effect.

At this point, Ruby drops all pretext in their game. She whines aloud, abandons the iron, and grinds her ass shamelessly against Weiss' hips. Weiss responds by bringing one hand up, snaking it underneath Ruby's skirt, gripping her bare thigh and whispering,

"I can't stop thinking about you."

Ruby whimpers, thrusting back harder, silently begging to feel Weiss fingers inside of her.

But she is denied.

Weiss drags her fingernails over Ruby's bare skin, her thumb scarcely an inch away from Ruby's panties. She refrains from venturing any further, but Ruby's arousal is so heightened and intense from days of teasing that she doesn't even need direct contact. A small orgasm rips through her, and she clutches she edge of the ironing board to hold herself up, a low moan tumbling from her lips, muffled against the crumpled up shirt.

When the shivers subside and her body goes limp, Weiss leans over her arched back and rescues the shirt, setting the still-hot iron back down on its cradle.

"Are you alright?" Her voice is feather-soft.

Ruby manages a nod and an affirmative squeak.

"All right, then." Weiss peels away from her. "I think it's time for bed."

Ruby practically collapses on the ironing board, groaning with discontent.

"Such urgency," Weiss teases lightly. "Always so impatient. Don't you know the best things in life are worth waiting for?"

"But… my shirt…" Ruby protests weakly.

"No buts, you silly thing." Weiss spanks Ruby's ass lightly and sends her out of the room. "Go on and get yourself ready for bed."

Halfway across the room, Ruby looks back over her shoulder, finding Weiss about to finish the ironing of her shirt herself.

"Weiss, you don't have to-"

"Go on," Weiss urges, waving her off. "Don't be late up to the dorm."

Ruby starts to do as she's told, but turns back again once at the doorway. "You… are still coming? To say goodnight?"

"Of course." Weiss nods, smiling back towards her. "Don't I always?"

Slightly shaken and lightheaded with her recent orgasm, her tummy spasming with delicious aftershocks, Ruby makes her way upstairs to the dorms. In a daze, she pulls on her pajamas, brushes her teeth, washes her face, and drags a brush through her hair, unable to think of anything but the phantom touch of Weiss' hand on her thigh, the scratches on her pale skin still a visible reminder of the older girl's nails digging into her, making her come almost instantly.

Indeed, Weiss' mere presence is enough to arouse her. One look at those sky blue eyes, her salacious smile, or her shapely rear, and she gets wet - even more so tonight. When Weiss finally arrives at the dormitory for bed check - carrying with her a pristinely ironed shirt - Ruby's nipples stiffen and jut out, showing clearly through her thin cotton pajamas.

As her turn to be wished goodnight rolls around, she stands straight, her shoulders back, making sure her 'assets' are on display.

"I think you left this in the laundry room." Weiss hands the shirt over, refusing to let her eyes wander any lower than Ruby's chin. "Hang it up right away or else it'll crease again."

"No problem. Thank you, Weiss."

After the exchange of the shirt and a friendly smile, Ruby retreats back into her cubicle and slips the still-warm garment onto a hanger. As she straightens the starchy cotton, her fingers find something pinned to the inside, just below the topmost buttonhole.

It's a note, written in neat handwriting.

_For nothing is as hard to gain as that which I am seeking, nor any longing affects me as that for which I cannot have._

_W._

Ruby's eyes dart up, following Weiss as she completes her circuit of the dorm.

"Goodnight, Ciel," the girl sighs, keeping well clear of the yellow line. "I'm tired as well. Sleep well."

At the door, she flashes Ruby a fleeting smile, turns out the lights, and vanishes into the darkness, the now familiar sound of her retreated footsteps echoing down the empty hallway.

Too wired to sleep, Ruby grabs her scroll, curls up under her blanket, and plays a color matching game. Without meaning to, she kills an hour and most of her battery, and it's not until she finally rolls over to go to sleep that she realizes the dorm has been awfully quiet tonight.

Ciel hasn't partaken in any of her nocturnal rubbing sessions, which, up until this point, have occurred nightly and like clockwork. Perhaps she's tired, Ruby thinks, letting out a yawn of her own.

Tired. Just like her and Weiss.

_Just like Weiss..._

Now that's an intriguing thought, and Ruby fleshes it out some more in her mind. What if it was no accident that Weiss was standing outside the dormitory door on that first night? What if her return the following evening was equally planned? Has she been standing out there every night? Ruby hadn't thought to check. Could Ciel's midnight sessions be deliberately staged for Weiss' pleasure?

An interesting idea.

Ruby falls asleep with her hand inside her panties, teasing her throbbing sex at the thought of pleasuring Weiss.

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**End of Chapter 6**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Even the horniest of us need a break sometimes, eh? Even Ciel needs a night off.
> 
> ***Will work for glomps***


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Nothing is owned. This is for entertainment purposes only.
> 
> A/N: Hey all! Sorry for the delay - I got a Switch for my birthday and between Zelda, Stardew Valley and Disgaea, my relationship with my family is almost nonexistence. Writing shortly behind. But! Better late than never, eh? :D
> 
> We're really enjoying all the thoughts and comments on how the story is progressing. Some of the more outlandish ideas are fun, and so are the prompts that people leave! Thanks so much!
> 
> Enjoy.

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**All's Fair in Love and… Well… Love**

_Chapter 7_

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Weiss turns her head into her pillow in an attempt to stifle her groan, her silvery hair flopping over her face and shoulders as she slinks, bonelessly back into her sheets, her second successive orgasm fading away with delicious tremors echoing through her body.

"Fuck… oh fuck," she pants, rolling onto her back, both astounded and shamed by the intensity of her climax, and finally feeling somewhat sated.

Flooded with endorphins, she slaps her scroll before it has a chance to shrill an alarm at her, then gets herself ready in record time. Rushing through morning paperwork in her study, she is still feeling the buzz of sexual euphoria when she bursts into the dorm room at seven o'clock on the dot.

"Time to wake up, girls!" She cracks her hands together, her smile broad. "It's a brand new day!'

Swooping through the room, she makes sure every girl is at least partially conscious and in the process of rising from bed, then turns to Ruby's cubicle.

Ruby's  _empty_  cubicle.

The bed is made, the newly pressed shirt is gone, but there is no sign of the owner.

Weiss feels brief flutter of panic, and she grabs Katt's elbow as the groggy Fuanus stumbles out of the adjoining cubicle.

"Where's Ruby?" she demands.

"Huh?" Katt rubs the sleep out of her eyes, squinting at Ruby's bed. "I dunno."

Giving the dorm another once over, and satisfied that Ruby hasn't risen from another girl's bed instead of her own, Weiss hurries from the room and down the stairs, brushing past Professor Ansel without so much as a nod.

"Trouble?" the confused teacher calls after her, but even that goes ignored.

Weiss continues her search for Ruby on the ground floor, starting in the study room, then the common room, then the kitchen.

"There you are!" She presses a hand to her chest, relieved to find Ruby making breakfast. "I didn't know where you were. Why are you up so early?"

Ruby drops two slices of bread into the nearest toaster. "I couldn't sleep, so I thought if I got up early enough then you might be able to show me how to use this strange toasting contraption. It's like I can't work  _anything_  in this place." She leans forward over the counter, shaking her behind slightly in Weiss' direction.

Rolling her eyes, all worry evaporated, Weiss slowly approaches her. "I think I can help with that." She pushes the level on the toaster. "And, finished!"

"Poop." Ruby pouts.

"Perhaps you'd like to wish me a good morning?" Weiss offers instead.

Her lips twitching up, Ruby steps away from the counter and very carefully invades Weiss' personal space, leaning close to whisper, " _Good morning, Weiss_."

"Careful." Weiss intercepts an opportunistic hand from slipping around her waist. "Please be careful. You have to control these wandering hands of yours."

"What about my lips?"

Weiss shrugs. "I must admit, there isn't any rule about lips in the academy handbook. Odd, that."

"So that's okay? Just lips, ho hands?"

Weiss doesn't voice an objection, so Ruby leans forward and gently presses her mouth to the older girl's cheek, letting the friendly peck linger a fraction of a second longer than would be considered platonic.

"I like you a lot," she murmured, her lips grazing Weiss' earlobe.

"I noticed," Weiss whispers back, moving her hands up to Ruby's shoulders, ready to push her away if she should grow bold enough to make another advance.

Feeling the tension in Weiss' touch, Ruby pulls back of her own accord - albeit only a few inches. Her eyes dart down to Weiss' mouth, her shiney lips she keeps smooth with gloss, and she swallows.

"Just lips, no hands. Right?" she repeats, tilting her head and leaning forward.

"Don't," Weiss breathes just as Ruby's bottom lips bumps her own. "Please don't."

"Why not?" Ruby stays put, rubbing her nose against Weiss'. "Last night…"

Weiss slips a finger up and presses it to Ruby's lips, silencing her and stepping away. "Last night was a reckless indulgence. An… exception." She shakes her head, tracing Ruby's lip with the tip of her finger. "I am not your peer, Ruby, and this attraction between us is not to be taken lightly.

Ruby blinks, and wraps her lips around Weiss' fingertip, sucking gently.

"So you  _do_  feel something between us," Ruby says after releasing Weiss' finger with a soft ' _pop'_.

"I won't ignore it," Weiss murmurs feebly. "I  _can't_  ignore it, Ruby. But we mustn't… this shouldn't… after..." Halfway through her thought, Weiss loses the ability to speak as Ruby sticks out her tongue to drag it up her frozen finger.

She becomes entranced by the action, and at the girl's lips as they part to allow her tongue to flick in and out, running around her finger from tip to knuckle, then wrapping around it. But it is over in seconds.

Ruby steps away and looks at Weiss, a serious look in her eyes. "After what happened with Pyrrha." She finishes for Weiss.

Weiss looks away, biting her lip.

Taking her silence as agreement, Ruby continues, "I've wanted to kiss you since the first time I saw you, before I even knew who you were." She places both hands on Weiss' waist, drawing the girl closer. "There was never any doubt in my mind."

Weiss feels her lean in, and she turns her head just in time to feel the featherlight touch of Ruby's lips against hers, but then…

Footsteps.

Giggling.

Hungry girls are descending for breakfast, and Weiss withdraws. Much too late to do or say anything on the subject, she turns away and paws at her eyes, forcing the tears that are threatening to show themselves away.

Without looking back, Weiss makes a hasty retreat to her study, leaving Ruby to eat her breakfast in peace. When she emerges twenty minutes later for morning inspection and goodbyes, she looks perfectly composed for all.

Ruby somehow ends up at the back of the line again, and clearly on purpose. Weiss doesn't treat her any differently than the other girls, and wishes her a good day, and that she'll see her in class. Then she returns to her study to prepare for her lessons.

She is gathering books and graded papers together when the thud of a backpack hitting the floor alerts Weiss to look up, and she is both shocked and somewhat elated to see Ruby standing there in the doorway, instead of making her way to class.

"Ruby… what-" she begins to say, but the girl interrupts her.

"I'm sorry," she simply says.

"For what?"

"For this." Ruby lunges at her, pressing their mouths together to hard their teeth clack. The kiss is so forcefull that Weiss is shoved up against her desk, almost knocked completely off her feet, papers and books scattering to the floor. She brings a hand up to push Ruby away, but by the time she makes contact with the girl, she's lost all inclination to do so.

"I know what I want." Ruby breaks the kiss and holds Weiss upright against the edge of the desk. She darts forward to press another quick peck to her lips, keeping her hands in place until Weiss can remain standing on her own. "I want  _you,_ Weiss."

Following that bold proclamation, Ruby spins on her heel, grabs her backpack off the floor, and exits the room, leaving Weiss completely dumbstruck.

When Professor Ansel passes by Weiss' study a few minutes later, not much has changed. Weiss is still propped up against her desk, breathing heavily, test papers strewn around her feet.

"Are you feeling alright, Weiss?" Ansel askes, a bushy eyebrow raised questioningly.

Weiss snaps herself to attention and stands. "Yes. Of course."

"What happened?"

"I…" Weiss gets down on her knees, collecting her papers. "I was dizzy, that's all. It's nothing." She waves off the incident.

"Are you sick?"

"Maybe." Weiss takes a deep breath, not looking up for fear of showing her brittle emotions to her colleague. "I suppose I am."

0 - 0 - 0

Ruby watches as Weiss strides into her Art class with no hint of a smile, lesson notes and homework cradled in one arm.

"Sit," she orders, snapping her fingers to urge speed as she dumps her books and papers onto her desk with a loud smack.

She is in a bad mood, that much is obvious to everyone in class. For the next sixty minutes, she barks out orders and reprimands, picking on every minor fault, offering few pleasantries and little encouragement. She refuses to make eye contact with Ruby, even when Ruby puts up her hand with a genuine answer to a question, and her interactions with the other students are noticeable more brusque than usual.

After a while, Ruby gives up, her own demeanor turning sour. By the time the bell rings, she is in a downright miserable mood and is more than happy to get out of the classroom, keeping her eyes to herself as she walks past Weiss' desk on her way to the door.

It is lunchtime, but since she is neither inclined to be sociable in the cafeteria, nor run the risk of bumping into Weiss at the dorm, she decides to mope. For the most part, that means wandering aimlessly around school property, discovering new places where one could hide and smoke, and mapping out more shortcuts to and from classes.

Along the way, she finds a room that wasn't included in the grand tour Penny had taken her on when she first arrived. Normally completely locked off, the main doors to this enormous room are surrounded with 'Do Not Enter' signs, and all Penny told her that it used to be a performance hall, but it had been off-limits for the past year.

Today, one of the back doors is ajar. Peering in, Ruby can see that it leads to a darkened backstage area filled with old props, abandoned costumes, and a few spools of rope used in the counterweight system above the stage. A cleaner's cart is pushed to the side, the mop still dripping with steaming water.

Guessing she has a few minutes to explore before the cleaner returns to find her trespassing, Ruby slips inside. Amidst the junk - including an old, non-operable steam-driven vehicle from a period piece - there is a wall dedicated to cast and crew photographs from past productions.

Using the light from her scroll to get a better look, Ruby scans through the pictures, surprised to see Weiss in several of them. Dressed in casual wear - jeans and a t-shirt in many, a simple blouse in others - she seems much more relaxed than Ruby has so far known her to be around others. Although Weiss usually dresses down on the weekends, Ruby has yet to see her in something as informal as a t-shirt; the weather in Atlas simply hasn't been warm enough.

Not only that, but Weiss looks happy. Really, really happy. In a handful of pictures, she's even wearing her hair down, her silvery mane cascading over her shoulders, completely unfettered.

"Wow," Ruby mumbles to herself. She couldn't help it; the girl was  _hot_.

There are other recognizable faces in the pictures, too. She spots Ciel Soleil, and Katt, and a few others she's come to know over the last few weeks, as well as a now-familiar-looking redhead: Pyrrha Nikos. There's even a picture of Weiss and Pyrrha together, their arms around each other's waists, Weiss pressing a kiss against the side of Pyrrha's head while Pyrrha makes a kissy face for the camera.

Elsewhere, the wall is covered in graffiti. Students have signed their names in black or blue or red pen, preserving themselves on Atlas Academy property, jotting down inspirational messages and well wishes for future students who might read them. Amongst the mess of scrawls, there is a stylistic heart with the letters WS and PN inside it.

Weiss Schnee and Pyrrha Nikos? Really?

Ruby dismisses it and moves on. Thousands of students have come and gone from this school; those initials could belong to anybody. Indeed, there are many more hearts scattered around, memorializing a plethora or romances, some angrily crossed out.

Ruby dumps her backpack on the floow at the edge of the stage and approaches a piano-shaped mount covered by tarp. Sure enough, when she flings back the moth-eaten canvas cloak, she unveils a grand piano in pristine condition.

Lifting the fallboard, she plinks a few keys, determines that it is surprisingly still in tune, then sits down on the stool and begins to play. She starts off with an old funeral dirge she remembers because of the cool-sounding melody, but soon tires of it and moves into something different: a song her mother used to sing to her as a girl.

She's well into the middle of what she remembers before she senses movement in the periphery of her vision. She stops playing mid-stoke and looks up, prepared to spout off a hurried apology to the cleaner and make a swift departure, but it is not the cleaner standing at the edge of the stage next to her backpack -

It is Weiss.

"Continue," Weiss prompts her. "Please."

She looks softer now than she did in the classroom, and Ruby obliges, playing the song out until she can't remember how to finish.

After the notes fade, "How did you know where to find me?"

"I didn't." Weiss steps up onto the stage. "I heard music and came to tell off whichever unruly student had snuck in here to mess around."

"Am I in trouble?" Ruby keeps her eyes on the keys, walking her fingers over them.

"Of course not." Weiss walks around the piano. "Was that  _Le Duo De Roses_?"

Ruby nods, self-conscious.

"You played it beautifully. Why haven't you tried out for the academy orchestra?"

"My dad thinks music is a waste of time." Ruby lowers the fallboard to cover the ivories. "I only started playing piano as a distraction after my mom died. She used to sing me this song."

"But you're so talented." Weiss budges her over with a wiggle of her hips and sits on the still beside her, facing away from the piano. "Hasn't he heard you play?"

"He has, and I don't think he cares. My sister likes my playing; but ever since she graduated and left home, I didn't see a reason to continue. I already forgot most the songs I knew." Still in a somber mood, Ruby drops her hands form the fallboard to her lap, her gaze lowering with them. "But… thank you. It means a lot to me to hear you say that."

"I mean it." Weiss reaches out for one of her hands, weaving their fingers together. "I wish we had a piano in the dorm. You could serenade me, and I can sing along with you."

Ruby tries to smile, but it does not stick. "So… you're not mad at me anymore?"

"Mad at you?"

"You barely looked at me in class."

"How could I?" Weiss winces, her cheeks darkening. "I can't even say your name without blushing."

"I broke the rules this morning." Ruby mutters, downcast. "You think I'm a troublemaker, impatient, and-"

"I think your beautiful." Weiss hooks Ruby's chin and tilts her head up. "You're smart, passionate and exuberant…" she chuckles. "Maybe a bit  _too_  exuberant. You disobeyed me, yes; but believe me, I'm only mad at myself."

"What for? I kissed  _you_ , not the other way around. You didn't do anything wrong."

Weiss laughs. "Oh, trust me - I've done plenty wrong already." She glances down at Ruby's lap, the hem of her skirt riding up several inches above her knees. Slowly, she reaches out and runs the tip of her fingernail from Ruby's knee upward. She crumples the skirt, exposing the girl's smooth, pale skin and the scratch marks still visible from last night's encounter in the laundry room.

"You see?" She strokes her fingers over the faint pink lines, the skirt pulled up so high it nearly reveals Ruby's panties. "I've done plenty wrong already."

Instead of replying, Ruby silently parts her legs. It's only a few inches, but the invitation could ntt possibly be any more explicit - and this time, Weiss accepts it. She nudges Ruby's legs open wider and bends over to brush her lips over the skin of her thighs. Ruby sucks in a breath when she feels Weiss breath deeply, the heat from her mouth ghosting over her throbbing center.

"What are you doing to me, Ruby?" the older girl mumbled, taking a small pinch of Ruby's underwear between her teeth and nipping gently. "You drive me crazy…" she chances one more kiss, and then raises her head.

Ruby swallows, lifting up her skirt and baring her wetness to Weiss, coaxing her to return to work. But Weiss simply closes her eyes and shies away, leaning back.

"You are making this very difficult for me. Do you know what? I know exactly what you are feeling." She tugs on the hem of Ruby's skirt, covering her up. "But can't you see you are moving this too fast? Promise me that you will slow down a bit. This morning was just too much, too quickly."

"It was just a kiss," Ruby whispers in protest. "I-"

"I don't give up my kisses so easily," Weiss stops her with a finger to her lips. "And I don't appreciate having them taken from me. Now," -she lowers her finger and checks the time on Ruby's watch- "your next class is starting soon." She gets up off the stool. "Come on. We should go. This place is out of bounds."

"Why?" Ruby stands and straightens her skirt. "What's wrong with it?"

"There was an accident here last year," Weiss answers vaguely, herding Ruby back toward the door then both entered through.

"What kind of accident?"

"A girl lost her life." Weiss ushers her out into the hallway, avoiding eye contact. "It was very tragic."

"Did you… know her well?" Ruby asks, already having a vague suspicion and not knowing whether it would be better to ask outright.

Unfortunately, thanks to a well-timed school bell, Weiss is interrupted from answering.

0 - 0 - 0

**End of Chapter 7**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hmm... the plot thickens...
> 
> Thoughts, anyone?
> 
> ***Will work for glomps***


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: We own nothing. This is for entertainment purposes only.
> 
> A/N: Hey all! Sorry for the delay - between deadlines at work, other projects pursued, and my life being sucked away by Zelda, we haven't gotten the chance to work on the new chapter until now. But! Here we are and hope its worth the wait!
> 
> Enjoy more WR goodness.

 

0 - 0 - 0

**All's Fair in Love and… Well… Love**

_Chapter 8_

0 - 0 - 0

Ruby, the last student to arrive for class after the bell rang, rushes into room and slinks into her seat beside Katt.

"This oughta be fun," Katt grumbles, doodling little fish in her notebook as Ruby begins to hurriedly unpack her bag. "I heard Weiss' been in a shitty mood all day long."

Ruby blinks, shrugging. "I was just with her. She seems fine to me."

Katt flicks her eyes up to peer at Ruby. "Oh yeah? Is that 'cause she was giving you more of her" -she lifts her eyebrows and grins a fanged smirk- " _private lessons?_ " She scooches back in her chair, parts her legs, and slips a hand down between them, letting out a quiet mewl, bucking her hips a couple times for good measure.

"Stop that!" Ruby hisses, slapping Katt's arm. "Those private lessons were to help me catch up with this term's music class curriculum," she lies. "I am  _not_  having sex with Weiss!"

Of course, at that exact moment, the noise level in the room had chosen to drastically drop to a dull roar, well enough to hear Ruby's outburst.

Cringing, Ruby swivels to face the door, knowing instinctively that Weiss is standing there, having heard every word of her and Katt's little 'talk'.

"No, you're not," the seemingly unflappable girl confirms for the class as she shut the door behind her. She arches a silver eyebrow high into her bangs, and her lips curl up into a smirk. "No matter how much you may want to."

The class erupts into laughter - entire at Ruby's expense - but Weiss takes it all in stride, letting them get out a few good cackles before she restores order and forges on with the lesson.

Much to Ruby's relief, the incident soon seems forgotten. The sporadic muffled snickering dies down - stamped out by Weiss' tight rein - and minds soon turn to classwork instead of gossip. That is, until Ruby puts her hand up to answer a question and is rewarded with an "Excellent job, Ruby", which causes the class to catch it's second wind and erupt into giggles again, paired with a wave of jeering ' _oooohs'_ from around the room.

Weiss ignores it, and soon the bell rings.

Forgetting their manners in the wake of such hilarity, the students rise from their chairs, gathering up their books and bads, chattering amongst themselves without waiting to be dismissed.

"Excuse me." Weiss clears her throat, making them stop in their tracks. "Did I pause for breath and give you all the impression that I was finished speaking?"

Butts rapidly plunk back into seats.

"Thank you." She begins again. "I've marked your assignments from last week, so collect them from me on your way out, and don't forget that your creative narratives are due on Monday." She rises from her desk with a stack of papers in her arms, opens the classroom dorr, and prepares to release her ill-mannered pupils.

"You may leave as I call your names." She shuffles the assignments, holding out the one on top. "Adamson."

A girl in the back row gets up, collects her paper, and leaves, and Weiss works her way down the stack, offering feedback where appropriate. It is no surprise to Ruby that she is the last one called, though from the look on Ciel's face when she is called before Ruby it is to her, and she has no objection to waiting a few extra minutes for freedom if it meant a few extra seconds alone with Weiss.

"Pay special attention to my notes on the last page," Weiss says, handing her a very respectable A-minus. "And I'll see you later, Ruby." She winks, making the girl's stomach flutter with butterflies.

Out in the corridor, Ruby flicks through Weiss' red pen notations, seeing that she has been caught on two misuses of a semi-colon, a typing error, and a few poor vocabulary choices.

Meh.

She flips to the back. Beneath a short commentary about her writing style, and possible improvements she could make, there's the most important thing of all: an invitation.

_Dinner at the dorm tonight?_

Around the corner of the classroom, Ruby stops in her tracks, unable to take her eyes off the page. In fact, she is so focused on Weiss' words, and the hidden promises they might hold, that she gets completely blindsided.

Before she realises it she is forced up against the wall, barely able to catch a flash of blue hair and tanned skin.  _Ciel Soleil,_  she realizes minutely, the very moment the air is knocked out of her lungs. She tries to draw breath, but she can't. Then there is an intense, sudden and crushing pressure at her side that causes her to double over, wheezing.

Ruby's first ever punch to the ribs.

She feels a sharp tug at the back of her head - fingers in her hair and jerking her head up - then another blow to her ribs. And another.

Then, she is pushed up again and Ciel's arm is against her throat, forcing her upright and pinning her to the wall.

And Ruby finds herself staring directly into Ciel's eyes; seafoam teal and hardened with anger.

" _Stay away from Weiss_ ," she snarls. She then gives Ruby another shot to the ribs, a final shove against the wall, and then storms off.

In over two weeks at Atlas Academy, those are the first words Ciel has said to Ruby.

0 - 0 - 0

Ruby lingers in the students' bathroom outside the cafeteria, staring at her reflection in the mirror. It is almost six o'clock, and Weiss is probably already back at the dorm, making dinner for them both, expecting her arrival imminently.

She dithers, suddenly unsure of herself.

Every time she takes a breath, her chest hurts, and when she lifts her shirt to expose her ribs, she is not the least bit surprised to find a large purple mottled bruise forming in the spot where Ciel had caught her. Is Weiss really worth all of this?

Duh.

Ciel can choke on a bag of dicks.

She snatches up her backpack and hightails it back to the house, hoping that her last minute arrival won't give away her momentary uncertainty. Stepping into the dorm without making any noise, she drops her backpack by the staircase and listens.

The dorm is quiet, except for the occasional clink of plates and silverware, and there's a lovely smell drifting in from the kitchen. Sneaking down the hallway, she peeks in on Weiss, finding her standing by the stove, sauteing something in a shallow pan, her jacket slung over the back of a chair.

Looking pensive, a slight frown creasing her brow, the older girl checks her watch, the furrows of tension dissolving when she finally spies Ruby loitering in the doorway.

"There you are." She smiles. "I was afraid you weren't coming."

"You thought I'd stand you up?" Ruby cuts through the room and plants a firm kiss on Weiss' cheek, broadening the girl's smile and prompting a flush of color where she had kissed.

"Well, you're just in time." The blushing girl holds up two fingers. "This many minutes, and then we can eat."

"How did you know we'd have the dorm to ourselves tonight?" Ruby stays close, running a hand down Weiss' back, tracing the curve of her spine.

"Do you know what day it is? Everyone loves the cook's pizza." Weiss stirs and tosses the sizzling vegetables. "Even Professor Ansel, and she's impossible to please."

"You don't like it?" Ruby slips her hand lower, feeling the curve of Weiss' ass through her skirt.

"Let's just say I can think of at least one thing in this down that I like a lot more."

"More than pizza?" Ruby asks, eyes wide.  _Damn._  She squeezes her hand around Weiss' rear to silently tell her what she thinks of that.

Weiss' blush intensifies, but she does not move Ruby's hand away. "Anyway, I can only take so much greasy food before I go insane."

Ruby grins and nibbles on Weiss' shoulder, continuing to fondle her backside. "What're you making?"

"Vegetarian pasta in white sauce. It's a family dish that we make from time to time."

"Sounds good."

"It is." Weiss nuzzles her hair. "I want to apologize for making light of you in class today. My personal feelings for you, no matter how complicated, should never be allowed to compromise my teaching."

"So you really do like me, then?"

"You can't tell?" Weiss pushes her ass out further into Ruby's hand.

"No, I mean… more than the others?" Ruby gives her a squeeze. "More than Ciel Soleil?"

"Why?" Weiss takes the pan off the heat and dishes up their dinner, her expression giving nothing away. "Has she said something to you?"

Deciding it is best not to mention their little 'encounter' in the hallway, Ruby shakes her head.

"She has an infatuation, that's all." Weiss kisses Ruby's cheek, handing her a plate. "It's nothing to be concerned about."

Ruby takes a seat next to Weiss at one of the smaller tables, not sure if her ribs would agree that there is nothing to be concerned about. Still, she lets the subject go, satisfied enough to know that she is the one here with Weiss while Ciel eats with the unwashed masses in the cafeteria.

Indeed, now that she is here - feeling dumb for nearly chickening out - she is eager to make the most of this time alone, and so launches herself headlong into flattery and flirtation. "You're hair is so pretty. Why do you always wear it up?"

"It makes me look stern." Weiss bites into a chunk of green pepper. "It helps to compensate for the fact that most of the student body remember me as one of their peers, and I'm actually a softie."

"Fair enough." Ruby would give anything to have better knowledge about how much of a 'softie' Weiss is, but thinks better of verbalizing something so overt and cringe worthy. "I guess I really shouldn't complain." She loads food onto her fork. "I've seen pictures of you with your hair down, and I think I'd have way too much competition for your extracurricular affections if you walked around like that all the time."

"No, you wouldn't," Weiss chuckles. "Lesbianism isn't contagious just because there aren't any boys around." She spears a piece of zucchini with her fork. "For most of the girls here, their peers are merely an outlet for adolescent hormones. They - myself included - are a convenient entity for them to thrust their attentions upon. By projecting their unfulfilled desires onto each other, they feel less… frustrated. It's a giant, school-wide pressure valve."

"So… you don't mind girls gawping at you all the time?"

Weiss chases an evasive chunk of eggplant around her plate. "It's mainly Ceil that is so aggressive with her fantasies. The rest respect me enough not to make things obvious." She pauses, chewing. "I sympathize. I know for a fact how difficult it is to be cooped up in this place without the freedom to express yourself - particularly sexually - and I consider myself a suitable surrogate for the girls here in many ways: a friend or sister for most, a sexual object for others."

"Like Ciel?"

"She wants to feel special - we all do. Desired even. My affection for them - Ciel included - validates their sense of self-worth, but what she they feel for me isn't real love. They would balk at the thought of actually having sex with me physically, and I've never, ever" - she emphasises the word - behaved with them as I have with you."

Ruby wonders where Ciel's late night masturbation sessions fit in with that, but says nothing.

"Is this why you asked about being my favorite?" Weiss wonders. "You're worried I might like all the girls in my dorm the way I like you?"

"I dunno." Ruby shrugs. "Maybe. Not really." She pauses to rup a piece of tomato in half with her teeth, wishing it was Ciel's jugular vein instead, annoyed that she had let that cunt get to her.

"You're the only one for me," Weiss assures her, dropping a soft kiss on her neck. "I promise."

Still confused as to where Ciel's busy fingers come into play, but disinclined to bring up the matter and ruin what is shaping up to be a very promising evening, Ruby concentrates on her food, clearing her plate in a few mines. She wishes she could put Ciel out her mind altogether, but the dull ache in her ribs is a persistent reminder of their earlier altercation.

Misreading her silence as doubt, Weiss makes another attempt to allay her concerns.

"I don't make a habit of this, if that's what you're thinking." She polishes off the last bite of her dinner. "What we're doing… that is, what we both  _want_  to do is… wrong. And not by Professor Wilkins' standards; it's technically illegal. I'm nineteen and you're underage." She holds up a finger when Ruby opens her mouth to say she doesn't care in the slightest; that a measly  _two year_ s should not matter. "-and I don't care one iota what out Headmistress considers unhealthy or improper. I'm talking about Atlesian law, which I care much more about, but find myself on the verge of violating."

Unsettled by her own declaration, Weiss takes up both empty plates and loads them into the dishwasher. When she is done, she stays put, her back to the table, a rising uncertainty evident in her rigid posture.

"I'm sorry for this morning." Ruby slides out of her chair, intent on restoring Weiss' mood. "I mean, I'm not sorry for kissing you," she continues, standing behind Weiss, running both hands from her shoulders down her back. "But I am sorry for pushing myself on you." She sweeps her hands around Weiss' waist, nesting her face close to the older girl's neck. "I just wanted to show you how serious I am about you, that's all." She nibbles on a piece of Weiss' earlobe. "I wasn't trying to be a dick."

Weiss pivots in Ruby's arms, slightly separating herself. "Do you have any idea what tremendous trouble I could get in for this?"

"I have an idea." Ruby keeps a firm hold of her, squeezing her hips. "Trouble with the school… the law since I'm a minor… trouble with your family." She pauses. "And if you thought my actions this morning made light of the risks you're taking with me, then I'm sorry for that as well. I shouldn't take a single second along with you for granted."

Her conviction renewed by Ruby's sincerity, Weiss takes the girl by the hand and leads her from the kitchen into the common room. "Come with me."

After casting the room in the soft glow of a single lamp, she sinks into one of the large sofas and removes her shoes, tucking her feet up.

Not daring to presume anything, Ruby sits on the other end of the sota, leaving a chaste distance between them, but when Weiss unclips her hair and shakes the silvery tresses loose, shifting sideways to face her, Ruby shoves caution aside and makes a bid for closeness.

Shuffling nearer, she brushes her palm across Weiss' cheek, fingering a lock of her silky maine, poring over her beauty, and Weiss welcomes the advance. She wraps her arm around Ruby's shoulders, steeling herself to make an advancement of her own.

"Do you still want my kisses?" she purrs, the question clearly rhetorical.

Ruby leans in for the kiss, teasing her would-be lover's lips apart with her own, pinching the girl's upper lip between her teeth and sucking it gently into her mouth. When the kiss breaks, she quickly reengages, flicking her tongue against Weiss' lips before closing her mouth over the older girl's lower lip, tugging on it a little before releasing her and launching a third assault.

This time, she keeps her mouth open a moment loner, moaning her approval when Weiss' tongue darts out to meets hers before they are forced to retreat. On the fourth meeting, Weiss slips a hand to the back of Ruby's neck, pulling her closer, their tongue meeting again, battling for entry into each others' mouths.

They kiss until breathless, parting reluctantly.

"A kiss is so much better when it's given freely and willingly, don't you think?" Weiss guides Ruby's hand around to her waist. "Much more erotic, isn't it?"

For several seconds, all Ruby can manage is a groan on contentment. She drops her forehead to Weiss' neck and begins laying kisses there, staring below her ear and moving slowly lower, over her collar bone and lower still.

"How far can we go?" she mumbles between kisses, burying her face in Weiss modest cleavage, her hand travelling upward from Weiss' waist to her ribs, waving at the underside of her breast. "If you tell me to stop, I will. I promise."

Weiss sighes lowly, a deep gravelly sound coming from her chest, and she whispers, "God, I'm so wet. You turn me on so much," reaching slowly for the top button of her blouse." Is this what you really want?"

Shit, did she really have to ask?

Ruby nods quickly.

"Then give me your hand." Weiss released another button from it's hole, steering Ruby inside of her blouse, placing her hand directly upon her breast.

Both women moan; through the lace of the bra, Ruby can feel Weiss' nipple tighten and strain against the gossamer fabric, aching for release.

"Fuck, Weiss, your so-"

" _Yes_ ," Weiss whispers against Ruby's ear. "I love it when you say my name like that."

She is about to coax Ruby's other hand inside her blouse when laughter and heavy footsteps outside signal that the first of the girls from the Schnee Dorm are making their way towards the entrance of the building after their pizza dinner.

"Fuck," Weiss grumbles, wiping away any traces of smudged lip gloss of makeup from both of them before retreating to the furthermost cushion and fixing her blouse. "Don't tell the others I made you dinner. The most they get from me is soup when they are sick."

At the last second, she slips her shoes on and heads for the kitchen to retrieve her jacket, appearing remarkably unruffled by the unwelcome intrusion, even when she crosses paths with a steely-eyed Ciel in the doorway.

"Wearing your hair different tonight, Weiss?" the girl asks, hands on her hips.

Unperturbed by the question, as if such a thing is nothing out of the ordinary, Ruby watches Weiss lie without missing a beat. "My clip broke."

From the sofa, shielded by it to some extent, Ruby watches the curt exchange with some interest and more than a little confusion, the role reversal painfully evident; Ciel disapproving, and Weiss defiant.

Secreting the forgotten hair clip in her cardigan pocket to preserve the lie, Ruby pushes herself off the sofa and braves Ciel's glare as she shoves past her into the hallway, snatching up her backpack before ascending the stairs to the dorm room.

That night, after lights out, she lies awake in bed, keeping herself vigilant, waiting for the commencement of Ciel's nightly antics.

Waiting.

And waiting.

Okay… getting kind of bored now… but still waiting.

At the first telltale gasp, she flings back the covers and rises to her knees, peering over the wall of her cubicle toward the dormitory door, straining to see any movement beyond.

There is none.

No Weiss.

She keeps her vigil until the last contented sigh, then dives back into her sheets, satisfied that whatever obscene hold Ciel once had over Weiss is now thoroughly broken.

And all's right with the world.

0 - 0 - 0

**End of Chapter 8**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: The glove are off, and Ruby won't take Ciel's warning sitting down. Unless it's on Weiss face. Nyuk nyuk nyuk.
> 
> See you all on the next chapter!
> 
> ***Will work for glomps***


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: We own nothing. This is for entertainment purposes only.
> 
> A/N: Happy Friday! Though, since I'm working twelve hour days and weekends up through the end of tax season (CPA), weekends don't exist.
> 
> On the other hand, enjoy more WR goodness.

 

0 - 0 - 0

**All's Fair in Love and… Well… Love**

_Chapter 9_

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Within the first five minutes of breakfast, one of the toasters catches fire, someone's oatmeal explodes in a microwave, and there's an uproar when it is discovered that there is no more soy milk in the refrigerator.

In other words, a typical morning in the Schnee Dorm.

Fifteen minutes later, however, one face in particular still has not appeared.

"Where's Ruby?" Weiss snags Katt's attention. "She's usually ready by now."

Katt shrugs, munching on a pastry. "Ruby said she wasn't feeling well." She talks with her mouth full, spitting crumbs. "I think she's gone back to bed."

"Want me to check on her?" Professor Ansel offers, hearing their conversation only through proximity.

"No." Weiss is quick to quash the suggestion, but refrains from sprinting up the stairs. "She's in my dorm. I'll go." She instead heads calmly for the door, suppressing anything that could be interpreted as an undue amount of concern.

With forced nonchalance, she climbs the staircase and enters the dormitory, finding Ruby groomed, but not dressed, lying face down in her bed, naked beneath her cotton pajamas, the cheeks of her ass outlines clearly behind the thin, pale fabric.

"What's the matter, Ruby?" Weiss unbuttons her jacket, shrugs it off her shoulders, and draps it over the cubicle wall. "Are you feeling sick?"

Ruby groans, but doesn't move. "Sorry, Weiss. I'll be up in a minute."

Hesitating at the yellow line, Weiss takes one look out into the hall, makes certain that the cannot hear any footsteps, then breaches the cubicle boundary.

"Can you tell me what's wrong?" She perches on the edge of Ruby's bed.

Ruby groans again, turning her head to peer at Weiss through the corner of her eye. Then she rolls onto her back, wincing.

"Um, girl stuff. That's all."

"Cramps?" Weiss sympathises, leaning over her. "Can I get you anything?"

Ruby shakes her head. "No. I took some painkillers. Just kinda waiting for them to kick in."

"There's nothing I can get for you?" Weiss presses the back of her hand to Ruby's forehead, then her cheeks, checking her temperature. "Maybe a hot water bottle?" She then moves her hand down to Ruby's belly, applying pressure.

Surprisingly, Ruby hisses, jerking and tensing from Weiss' touch. She attempts to turn away, but Weiss' suspicions drive her to grip her shoulders and hold her to the bed. She reaches down and yanks up Ruby's pajama top, revealing the angry purplish bruise on her lower ribs.

Weiss gasps in horror. "What happened?!"

"It's nothing." RUby says quickly, grimacing as she tries to get comfortable.

"Were… were you  _fighting_?" Weiss grazes Ruby's injured torse with her fingertips. "Please tell me you haven't been getting into any nonsense."

Ruby shakes her head. "Nope. No nonsense here. I promise."

"Is this the reason your bed-ridden?" Weiss caresses Ruby's skin just above her abdomen. "I have to make a note in the dorm accident and injury book." Her mind whirls through protocol. "And I have to inform your parents."

"I wouldn't," Ruby warns her. "My dad'll go apeshit, and I don't want to cause trouble."

"If you haven't noticed, trouble seems to find its way to you." Weiss says gently, her lips twitching in mirth. Then she sobers. "Have you seen the nurse at least? Visits with her are confidential. I can write you a note for your first class so that you can go straight there."

"I don't want to cause a fuss." Ruby mutters again.

"You're not causing a fuss.  _I'm_ causing a fuss. And you're going to do as you're told. Is that understood, Miss Rose?"

Ruby smirks, clearly amused by the authoritative tone in Weiss' voice, and she erupts into giggles. Her laughter is quickly interrupted by a wince and slight hiss of pain.

"You dunce." Weiss bends down low to press her lips against Ruby's bruise. "You have to go see the nurse.

As her lips make contact with skin, she feels Ruby's fingers slip around the back of her neck, tugging her forward and enticing her to continue. Murmuring her willingness to do just that, she plants kisses around Ruby's belly button, flicking her tongue inside it before moving her mouth higher, finally pausing at the hem of Ruby's bunched-up pajama top, toying with the buttons.

"Go ahead," Ruby breathes, as if she can read Weiss' thoughts. Maybe they are her own, after all. "You can if you want. I'm not wearing anything underneath."

Weiss falters.

"Here-" Ruby undoes the buttons herself. "Let me know you." She peels back the cotton of her top, filling Weis's vision with the milky white skin of her naked breasts.

" _Fuck,_ " Weiss whispers in a hushed voice, her eyes traveling all over Ruby's body. Her nipples are pink, rigid and swollen, begging to be kissed. Her breasts are full and round; two small handfuls perfect for Weiss.

Trembling, Weiss trails a finger down Ruby's chest, between both delightful mounds and over soft, silky skin.

"I kinda wish they were bigger," Ruby mutters, looking down at herself. "LIke my sister's or something." She pauses thoughtfully. "But then I may have some serious back problems."

"Oh, no," Weiss coos softly. "They're perfect, Ruby."

She scoops one into her hand, gasping at the sensation of Ruby's firm, warm flesh, and quickly dips down to bring her mouth to the other. She sucks the nipple into her mouth, pulling on it, nipping it, swirling her tongue around it.

"I need you," she mumbles, kissing her way back down Ruby's body. "I want more of you." She reaches the waistband of Ruby's pajama bottoms. "I can't resist you." She gives one sharp downward tug on the elastic, baring the very top of Ruby's shaved mound.

She drops a kiss there, gripping the pajama bottoms with both hands as Ruby raises her hips and lets out a strained whimper, urging Weiss to do with the clothing and just  _fuck_  her already - or, at least, that is how Weiss interprets it - but then…

Voices herald the unwelcome return of girls, and Weiss recoils like a frightened animal. She stands up, abruptly and unexpectedly revealing her presence to the perplexed students. Not only is it a shock to see her there, but to see her inside someone's cubicle, presumably on the bed, is a shocking sight indeed.

Flustered and horribly aroused, Weiss strives to regain her poise. "If you're not sick, you have to get up," she snaps while trying to straighten her blouse. "No more moping, Ruby."

Her cheeks burning, she snatches up her jacket and strides toward the door, the three girls staring at her, struck silent by the heavy tension in the room.

"What are you three staring at?" she snarls at them. "What do you want?"

All three shakes their heads and look away.

"Hurry up and get ready, or you'll be late!" Weiss warns, walking out of the dorm room without looking back.

She locks herself away in her study, but does not get any more than ten minutes alone to compose herself before she is required to perform her morning inspections before the girls leave for class.

As is now routine, Ruby takes her place at the back of the line, catching Weiss' eye and winking, flashing her sly smiles. When her turn finally comes, Weiss straightens the younger girl's collar and makes sure she looks presentable, but does not offer any kisses. Instead, she takes a quick look around for Professor Ansel, then checks her watch.

"Would you like to join me in my study for a few minutes?"

"Why?" Ruby blinks, feigning confusion. She then smirks. "Have I been a naughty girl?"

Rolling her eyes, Weiss takes Ruby by the hand and leads her away. "Let's not start that."

She flings the door to her study open and stops dead in her tracks. Professor Ansel is sitting at the front of her desk, looking right at Weiss and Ruby - and at their entwined fingers.

Weiss drops Ruby's hand. "May I help you, Professor?"

"It's the fifteenth of the month," the older woman says evenly, wiggling a notebook towards Weiss. "We need to go over the dorm ordering, and I need your co-signature to call a plumber. There's a broken tap in the younger girls' bathroom."

Trying her best to appear unfazed, Weiss takes a deep breath. "One moment, please," she commands Ruby to wait, then crosses to her desk, fills out a hall pass, and hands it to her. "Be sure to see the nurse before your first class like I told you, alright? No more dilly dallying."

Intent on keeping up their ruse to the end, Weiss leans forward and gives Ruby a quick peck on the forehead before sending her on her way.

"You're going to far with her," Ansel says once Ruby has left the dorm.

"I would kiss all my girls here," Weiss shrugs it off. "If they ask it."

"And everything else your doing with her?" Weiss has to admit; the woman definitely is not stupid. Not that she every thought she was.

Weiss sits at her desk, her jaw tight, taking a moment to answer. "It doesn't mean anything."

Ansel regards Weiss closely; the girl's shining eyes, her clenched teeth, her tight lips, her hands in tight balls on her desk… it is as if she is trying to physically hold all her emotions inside, and Weiss knows it.

"Are you…? Not again…" Ansell shakes her head despairingly. "Weiss, you can't do this to yourself. What about..."

Weiss bites her lip and looks away. "I'm not. I can't. It-"

Ansell steps around the desk to look down at Weiss. Her voice is softer, quieter. "What happened to Nikos was a tragedy for everyone. Maybe you most of all. I know you want to move on, but this is the wrong way. She's just a child."

"Ruby's-"

"She is seventeen." Ansel says simply, her voice hardening. "And it's Atlesian  _law_. There is no leeway at all. She's a child, you are an adult. You  _know_  this."

Weiss is silent for a long moment, then she sucks in a breath. "She won't be sevente-"

"And you're her teacher!  _You_  can't have her."

That one hits home, and Weiss buckles against the desk. It is true; even if Ruby  _was_  eighteen, and therefore legal by Atlesian law, Weiss would still be a teacher; a de facto legal guardian of these girls and therefore the responsible party in this relationship.

The fact that Weiss may in fact lose her position because of this - temporary though it is for the moment - followed the first blow with a second, nearly causing Weiss to collapse in her chair.

"It's a lapse, that's all." Weiss finally says, reaching to a random pile of papers and shuffling them to distract herself. "I'll fix it."

"See that you do." Professor Ansel lets the heavy silence drop. "I'm sure you don't want to see this one end up like that last one."

0 - 0 - 0

Weiss is sitting alone in her office, no sounds but that of a softly ticking clock and the creak of her chair as she shifts to open her computer. Accessing Atlas Academy's student records, she types the name 'Ruby Rose' into the search field and brings up the girl's class schedule.

Right about now, Ruby is in a history lesson with Professor Ansel.

In half an hour, she has a free period.

Clicking the link for student contact information, Weiss scrolls through Ruby's home address, her parent's home and scroll numbers - only her father is listed -, other emergency contacts, and then finally comes across Ruby's email address and personal scroll number. Retrieving her own scroll from a pocket in her jacket, she types out a quick message.

_Come to me after class. I'm in my office._

_W.S._

She sets the scroll down, not expecting to get a response. A second later, is buzzes.

_Okie dokie._

Scowling, Weiss responds.

_Don't text during class._

The prompt reply:

_Don't distract me during class ;-3_

Smiling for the first time since her conversation with Professor Ansel, Weiss sets the scroll aside. Unfortunately, her cheer is short-lived. She can't help but things about all the things she should say to Ruby when she arrives. Starting with: "I'm sorry. We can't keep doing this. I've let it escalate much too far, and I shouldn't have. I let myself get carried away with you, and it has to stop."

Then: "None of this can happen again. You must find a way to be happy with things as they are, or I'll have to insist that you be transferred to another dorm."

Even as she things it, she knows the words will never leave her lips. She pushes them away from her mind, losing track of time as she battles with her conscience, and long before she is ready for it, there comes a knock at the door.

"Enter!" She looks up as Ruby enters, her heavy thoughts lifting upon first sight of the girl. "How did it go with the nurse this morning? What did she say?" She invites Ruby to sit in front of her desk.

"She says I have a cracked rib, but says it's nothing to worry about unless I start having difficulty breathing." Ruby dumps her bag on the floor and plonks into one of the available chairs, ratting a bottle of pills she pulls from her cardigan's pocket. "She gave me some hard-core painkillers and told me to take it easy for six weeks."

Weiss clicks her tongue. "Is there anything I can do for you?" She gets up from behind her desk and moves to the chair beside her favorite student.

"Well, now that you mention it…" Ruby shifts to face Weiss. "There is an exercise the nurse told me about, to help make the pain easier and speed along the healing process. She said I could do it myself, but it's better if I can find someone else to do it for me."

"Of course," Weiss says, stroking Ruby's arm. "What is it?"

"It's simple. First you put your fingers together like this-" she shows her index and middle finger held firmly together, then curls them upward. "and then you slid them up into my-"

Weiss gently snacks Ruby's upper arm. "Very funny." She rolls her eyes.

Ruby snorts a laugh, clutching her ribs. "Hey, it was worth a try."

"You're incorrigible," Weiss scolds her. "And I wish you'd tell me how this happened." She lays a hand over Ruby's bruise. "What it a bully?"

"I'm not being bullied," Ruby reassures her. "Some people are just sore losers."

That gives Weiss pause. She blinks. "This was a game?"

Ruby turns to fully face her. "Not to me, it isn't."

Though still concerned, Weiss accepts that some matters simply would not benefit from the interference of a teacher - indeed, it may even make some worse - and lets the subject go, turning her mind to a more positive topic.

"I have something for you." She dials up her smile and bends over her desk, rummaging through loose papers. "It's here somewhere."

She hears Ruby giggle. "Don't mind me. Take your time. The view is nice."

Weiss smirks, craning her neck around to see Ruby staring unabashedly at her read end. "Oh? You like this?" She gives it a teasing little shake before resuming her search. Finally, she find it. "Ah!" She plucks a sheet of paper from underneath her computer. "Sign-ups ended a month ago, but I've made special arrangements for you."

"That sounds suspiciously like an exception." Ruby smirks slyly, taking the proffered page. Weiss' smile widens when Ruby discovers that it is for the after-school music club.

"I know I said I wasn't going to make any exceptions," Weiss says, returning to Ruby's side. "But one more could hardly hurt, and I want an excuse to hear you play the piano again."

Ruby is quiet for a long minute, and Weiss wonders what she is thinking. Was this too much? Does Ruby not want to play music anymore, and the yesterday was a fluke? Did Weiss make a mistake by hoping Ruby would be interested in such a thing?

"I have something for you, too," Ruby finally says, breaking the silence. She reaches down to fish through her backpack, pulling out what looks to be a writing assignment bound in a plastic folder. "Will you read this over for me? It's my literature homework. My creative narrative."

Weiss laughs, but takes it from her.

"What's so funny?" Ruby frowns.

"Nothing. It's just I'd much rather with I wasn't you-" she stops herself, a sudden sadness invading her mind like an unwelcome guest. "That is, I'd prefer it if my obligations to you were different. You understand?"

"Acutely." Ruby places a hand on Weiss' stockinged knee. "Do you want me to drop Music? Would it be easier for you if you taught me less?"

"Oh, Ruby. Trust me, if these feelings of ours endure, and the time comes for one of us to make a sacrifice, that one will not be you. The burden of responsibility in this is mine, and mine alone."

"That hardly seems fair." Ruby works her fingers beneath the hem of Weiss' skirt.

"It's as it should be. But in the meantime, we'll continue as normal and let things play out." Weiss steals a peck on the lips. "After all, we haven't done anything too terrible." Another peck. "Yet." And another. "So I'll read your homework this evening." One last, lingering kiss. "And I'll give you my notes in the morning. In my study."

Ruby hesitates before murmuring, "What if someone catches on?" Her tongue makes an appearance to swipe across her lips, and Weiss has to force herself from catching it and taking the whole thing into her mouth. "Other teachers, or something?"

"Who? Professor Ansel?" Weiss shakes her head. "Don't worry about her. We'll have to be more careful around the dorm, but generally speaking, I learnt a while ago that the more you struggle to conceal something, the more obvious it becomes. So just relax and don't worry about it, and neither will anyone else."

"Spoken like a true repeat offender." Ruby grins toothily.

It is meant a a joke, but the words dull Weiss' cheer enough for her to pull away from Ruby.

"I know it goes against all good sense and reason for me to let this happen. But I don't want to stop being close to you. Ruby… I-"

Whatever Weiss is going to say is lost as a sharp knock on the door jerks the pair further apart, and Ciel barges in the room without waiting to be invited, stopping in her tracks when she sees Weiss and Ruby sitting together.

"Ciel!" Weiss barks, standing. "Where are your manners?" She recovers quickly enough, making sure to inconspicuously straighten her skirt and still appear in control. When Ciel doesn't answer, just looks between her and Ruby silently, Weiss sighs heavily and retreats behind her desk.

"Thank you for this, Ruby." She sets the girl's homework on her desk in front of her. "We'll speak later about your attendance."

Ruby accepts the brisk dismissal with a sharp nod and no complaint, and stands, walking past a glowering Ciel and through the door.

As the door shuts, Weiss has a distinct feeling Ruby's thoughts mirror her own:

Just what  _was_  she about to say before Ciel interrupted them?

0 - 0 - 0

**End of Chapter 9**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Happy Easter, everyone!
> 
> See you all on the next chapter!
> 
> ***Will work for glomps***


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: We own nothing. This is for entertainment purposes only.
> 
> A/N: Happy Friday(again)! Hope everyone is having a great week. Get out there and enjoy the fresh air for me, won't you?
> 
> After reading this, of course.
> 
> Enjoy.

 

0 - 0 - 0

**All's Fair in Love and… Well… Love**

_Chapter 10_

0 - 0 - 0

Long after the students have gone to bed, Weiss finally finds a moment to relax in her study. She had thought about going to sleep herself, finally, but ended up deciding it would be better in the long run to get a head start on grading papers.

After a moment's contemplation, she pulls out a bottle of Atlesian Ice Wine from the bottom drawer of her desk.

_Thank you very much, Winter, for being a lush._

Smiling wryly to herself, Weiss uncorks the bottle and pours a splash in a mug, sitting down on her couch. She rests Ruby's homework against her thighs - opting to read her's first since she told the girl she'd give her critique in the morning - and slips on her reading glasses.

The first line cause her to choke on the wine.

_My long-awaited orgasm rips through my body, her fingers delving deep inside me to coax it out in long pulls. She's probing every inch of me, every crevice of my wet, gushing sex, and a cry of pleasure escapes my lips…_

It goes on and on, transition into a flashback to set up the introduction of the two main characters: a young schoolgirl and her young, beautiful, blue-eyed teacher.

Real subtle. Weiss giggles to herself, rolling her eyes in exasperation.

Well, waste not.

Intrigued and slightly aroused, she keeps reading, eventually concluding that Ruby must be at least sexually experienced. Her writing is far too explicit to be that of a virgin. Granted, Ruby's attitude towards sex in general had led her to believe that she had  _some_  idea of what she was doing, but now Weiss is certain of it.

This is not the work of simply an overactive imagination.

She hopes.

Weiss sets her mug of wine on the arm of the sofa and leans back, sliding her hips forward and causing her skirt to bunch up around her thighs.

She reads on.

She feels her cheeks prickling with heat, the flush spreading to her chest, the throbbing between her legs becoming more obvious the further she reads. Clutching the hem of her skirt, she relaxes her knees and shifts the papers so she can hold them with one hand, the other sliding down between her legs, tracing the outline of her panties before finally pushing the material aside.

She's wet; more so than she remembers being for a long time.

Groaning softly at how turned on she is from just reading a little bit of Ruby's 'homework', she tucks the smut under her arm, grabs the bottle and her shoes with one hand, her mug with the other, and tiptoes upstairs; after all, if she's going to do this, she may do it in her private room and not her office.

As she grapples with the door to her quarters, she hears the floor creaking behind her.

"Weiss…"

Weiss turns at the voice to find Ruby, stifling a gasp at the girl's slender form. She's clad only in her cotton pajamas, her nipples erect and a dark pink, tenting out the fabric at her bust.

"What are you doing up so late?" Weiss asks, realizing that she's staring, jerking her eyes up. "Do you need something?"

Ruby doesn't answer, her own eyes drawn to the wine in Weis's hands. She blinks, obviously aware of the academy's rules about having any alcohol on campus.

"Shhhh." Weiss put her finger to her lips. "Our little secret."

She finally opens the door to her room and does not bother to close it when she enters, leaving it flung wide - a silent invitation.

What happens next is entirely up to Ruby, the doorway simply a portal offering countless possibilities - and the besotted student clearly is not about to pass any of them up.

She steps inside, lingering at the threshold of Weiss' modest living area, a bedroom to the right, and a bathroom to the left. The bedroom door is ajar, and through it, Ruby spies Weiss' queen-sized bed draped in sky blue sheets.

"Don't hover." Weiss tosses her shoes on the floor and lets down her hair. "Either you're in, or you're out. Don't dilly-dally."

She flops onto her sofa at the edge of the room and pours herself another splash of ice wine, setting the bottle and the homework on a tempered glass coffee table. Turning to face Ruby, she drapes one arm over the back of the soda, the other nursing the mug in her lap. She crosses her legs, leans back on the cousins, and waits for Ruby to come to a decision.

Ruby finally shuts the door.

Smiling in satisfaction, Weiss brings the mug to her lips, taking a sip. "You wrote me porn."

"Did you like it?" Ruby moves toward her.

"You realize I can't submit it to the school, don't you?" Weiss' smile sticks. "You have to write me something else for class."

"It wasn't for the school," Ruby smiles back. "It was for you."

Weiss swirls the wine in her mug, trying to downplay her arousal as best she could. "That being said, I have to ask… do you write from personal experience?"

Ruby blinks. "You want to know if I'm a virgin?"

Weiss' stomach flips at the thought. "I'm… curious about your expertise." She fingers the rim of her mug. "Your writing has a certain… precision."

"I haven't been a virgin in almost two years." Ruby edges nearer, and for the first time, seems unsure of herself. "Does… does that bother you? My lack of innocence?" Then she smirks. "Or does it excite you?"

Weiss lifts her eyes, the flush in her cheeks all the more obvious to her since she had started drinking. "Honestly? It relieves me."

Ruby shuffles closer still, moving slowly in case the overture is met with rejection.

It isn't.

She is close enough now to touch Weiss, and her hands maneuver alongside her thighs, grazing silk stockings. Reaching forward, she plucks Weiss' mug from her hand. The older girl makes no attempts to take it back, and says nothing when Ruby takes a sip and sets it down on the coffee table.

Emboldened by her sip of wine and Weiss' silent permission, Ruby grabs Weiss by the ankle and swings one of her legs onto the sofa, spreading her legs.

"Ruby!" Weiss squeals, taken aback by the younger girl's audacity.

Another squeal is quick to follow as Ruby seizes Weiss' hips and pulls her forward, kneeling between her parted legs looming over her.

Reacting on instinct, Weiss leans back against the sofa, lying further and further back with every inch of Ruby's advancement until the pair are horizontal, Ruby lying directly on top of Weiss, nestled neatly between her legs.

Ruby, above and in control, lowers herself into a kiss and Weiss closes her eyes in anticipation of it, allowing herself to be seduced. Then, just as she feels the featherlight touch of Ruby's lips brush against hers, Ruby thrusts her hips forward, grinding her pelvis against Weiss' and prompting the older girl to groan aloud at the sudden and unexpected connection.

Ruby pulls back, and before Weiss can even take a steadying breath, she thrusts forward again, crushing into Weiss' sex. Weiss grunts as she sees stars, and attempts to meet Ruby by canting her hips up to meet every lunge, even going so far as to reach down to grasp at Ruby's ass, pulling her tighter against her, feeling herself nearing orgasm from simply feeling the younger girl grinding against her.

Craving the release more than anything, she digs her nails into Ruby's flesh, biting into the soft fabric of her pajamas, her entire body tensing for climax, then… Ruby slows down.

Weiss is about to growl a complaint when she feels Ruby's hands on her chest, working the buttons of her blouse with trembling fingers.

She finally succeeds, giving the smooth satin a firm tug and exposing the white bra beneath. Eyes burning with lust, she fumbles with the clasp of Weiss' bra a couple times - Weiss has to arch her back to assist - before she is finally able to release it.

"Oh, thank  _fuck_ ," Ruby whimpers, casting her eyes over Weiss' naked breasts. "Their beautiful. You're breathtaking," she murmurs, bringing her mouth to one and starts to suckle on her. "So gorgeous," she mouths around a puffy nipple.

Weiss hums and tugs on Ruby's hair, coaxing the girl back up to her face. After a moment she does, and they begin kissing in earnest, a flurry of hungry tongues and lips. Weiss' hand finds its way under Ruby's pajamas, caressing her silky thigh, while Ruby's hand starts travelling downward, from her breasts, to her waist, then down to-

Weiss suddenly breaks off the kiss.

Startled, Ruby props herself up on her hands, her cheeks a rosy hue.

"I can't give you everything you want from me," Weiss says feebly, panting. "Not like this. I wish I could."

Ruby blinks again. Her bottom lip trembles a little and drops another kiss down onto Weiss' mouth, reaching down and taking Weiss' hand from her thigh to her breast, encouraging her to fondle her over her pajamas.

Reacting without conscious thought, Weiss arches her back into Ruby, accepting the sweet of a furtive hand over waist and hip, spreading her legs further.

"Ruby…" she moans again, Ruby's lips breaking away to move lower.

While lips and tongue trail wetly down her throat to her breast, she feels a steady hand pick up where it left off, creeping up her inner thigh, seeking out her painfully throbbing sex.

"That's enough," Weiss pleads.

Ruby doesn't stop.

"Stop," Weiss whispers more forcefully.

Ruby continues, ignoring her.

" _Stop!_ " Weiss pushes Ruby away, her composure lost for a brief moment."Stop, stop, stop!" She tears her hand away from Ruby's breast and snatches the girls wandering hand at her thigh, holding her firmly before it can reach her underwear. "This is too much.." She pushes Ruby's hand away from between her legs. "Too much, too soon."

"Why do you keep saying that?" Ruby rocks back on her heels, her eyes blazing with lust and indignation. "I know you want me to touch you, so why won't you let me?"

Weiss wriggles back into a corner of the soda, pushing herself upright. "I don't want to have sex with you, Ruby!"

She regrets the words as soon as she says them, even before the look of hurt and shock shows itself on Ruby's face. Calming herself, she shifts to sit up properly on the sofa, closing her legs and tugging the hem of her skirt down to cover the top of her stockings.

"I'm sorry," she recants. "I didn't mean that. What I meant to say is, that's isn't  _all_  I want."

"That's not all  _I_  want either." Ruby slumps on the sofa, her face neutral.

"Are you sure about that?" Weiss reaches behind her and hooks up her bra. "I'm sorry to disappoint you; but I'm not a fascination fuck." She snatches up her mug, downs the entire thing in one long swallow, then pours a refill.

"Is that what you think this is? You think I only want you because you're my teacher?" Ruby throws her head back against the sofa. "For god's sake, I love you!"

Weiss winces, wishing very much that she could believe that. "Oh, darling. You barely even know me."

"How can you say that? After all time time we've spent together, talking about anything and everything that had nothing to do with school."

Still, Weiss won't budge. "We need to wait," she mutters, already halfway through her refilled mug of wine.

"Oh, yeah?" Ruby's tone is petulant, sharp enough to cut glass. "And how long did you make Pyrrha Nikos wait?"

In a split second, Weiss' mood plummets. Her heart leaps into her throat, and her stomach churns painfully. It takes her a moment to school her features into something resembling neutrality, but she knows Ruby can still see right through it.

"Where did you hear that name?" Her voice is cold. Monotone. She can barely recognize it as her own.

Ruby shrugs. "Everywhere. She's everywhere, Weiss." She pauses. "Who is she?"

"A former student of this dorm." Weiss says, downing another swig of wine. "But she's gone now, and I don't see any point in bringing up-"

"There was something between you two." Ruby says, cutting her off. "Wasn't there? Was she the girl in those pictures with you?"

"I think you already know." Weiss cradles her mug, staring down into the pale liquid. "Don't make me say it."

Ruby seems to consider that, and then finally sighs. "Did she love you?"

Weiss takes a long sip of her wine before answering. "More than I knew."

Ruby's expression softens, understanding, and smiles. She leans forward, laying her hand gently on Weiss' thigh.

"Look, I'm sorry I said that. I-"

"You should go." Weiss removes Ruby hand from her lap. "Get back to your dorm and go to sleep. Good night."

Ruby's face pinches in a pained grimace, but does as she is told. She leaves with a final look back into the room, and Weiss has to turn away to hide the tears that are threatening to spill down her cheeks.

0 - 0 - 0

Ruby groans and shifts, rising into consciousness at the sensation of pressure on the edge of her bed. She rolls onto her back to confront the shadowy mass, half thinking it might be an irate Ciel - maybe the girl had learned of her late-night visit to Weiss' room earlier that night - and had finally snapped; come to bust up another of her ribs, or perhaps smother her with her own pillow. But one whiff of the sweet perfume hanging on the air, along with the faint aroma of shampoo and the pungent scent of ice wine, and she knows precisely who her midnight visitor is.

Weiss.

The older girl is silhouetted by a single beam of moonlight spilling in through the skylight window, and as Ruby's eyes adjust, she can see that Weiss' blouse is still partially unbuttoned, her bra-clad breasts entirely visible beneath.

"Wha-"

"Shhh," Weiss whispers, leaning over the bed, pressing two fingers to Ruby's lips. "Don't make a sound."

Those two fingers quickly find their way beneath the covers, ghosting up through Ruby's pajamas and nudges aside her panties with no hint of hesitation or insecurity.

Spreading her legs, Ruby holds her breath, biting back the mewl as Weiss' cold fingertips come into contact with her hot skin. Unable to vocalize her approval, she opens her legs wider and brings a hand down to Weiss', silently encouraging the girl onward to her opening.

When Weiss' fingers slide deeper through her crevice, Ruby floods in seconds.

" _Fuck,_ " Weiss murmurs, nibbling on an earlobe, holding back another exclamation of surprise - or pleasure - as she pushes two fingers deep inside, exploring Ruby's depths. "You're so wet."

"And tight."

"And hot."

"And  _so_  perfect."

She spills a string of hushed compliments, all into her ear. Then, at the first tiny noise that escapes Ruby's lips, Weiss smothers her mouth with a wine-flavored kiss. It's at that moment when it hits Ruby:

Weiss is drunk.

Her judgement is skewed.

"Where is it?" Weiss whispers against Ruby's ear.

"Where's what?" Ruby murmurs back huskily, her orgasm already growing close enough that she can almost touch it.

"Your toy. Where is it?"

Almost before she realizes it, Ruby jerks and unlocks her private bedside drawer, fishing out her dildo as Weiss flings back the covers and clambers onto the bed, quickly taking the toy from her. The older girl pulls her fingers out of Ruby and fits the dildo into her mouth, wetting it, before moving it down between Ruby's legs, sliding the tip between her lower lips. She finally finds the opening and, at Ruby's quick nod, pushes inside

Ruby smothers a hitched cry and clutches fistfulls of her bedsheets, her toes curling as Weiss gently fucks her with her own dildo . She lifts her hips so Weiss can penetrate her deeper, and groans deep in her throat when Weiss starts to move faster and harder.

Soon Ruby's entire body is shaking, her breath quickens, her hips bucking in time with every thrust from the older girl.

"I'm - I'm-" She cannot even vocalize properly - even if she wanted to - and instead reaches up to tug at Weiss' hair, hoping she understands enough to do  _something_. Possibly reading her mind, or at least her broken pleas, Weiss continues thrusting, cooing words of encouragement into Ruby's ear as her orgasm finally hits her with full force.

Her the final moments, Ruby pulls Weiss tightly against her, tucking her head into the crook of her neck and biting down on the first area of exposed skin she can find, smothering her climax as best she can.

It's over all too soon, and when Weiss slowly slides out of her. Ruby is trembling with aftershocks and hot with sweat.

"I  _do_  love you," she insists weakly.

Weiss plants a soft kiss on her lips. "I want that to be true." More kisses. "I want that more than anything, Ruby."

She sets the dildo aside on the bedside table, then pads barefoot out of the dorm, walking silently on tip-toes, her stealthy exit going unnoticed to all but Ruby.

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**End of Chapter 10**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Oooh drama. Yummy.
> 
> See you all on the next chapter!
> 
> Go on. Shoo.
> 
> ***Will work for glomps***


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: We own nothing. This is for entertainment purposes only.
> 
> A/N: I decided to post the next chapter a bit early because its the final full week of tax season, and I'm not going to be able to get the chance to do *anything* at all until at least the 18th. So, might as well drop this now instead of possibly not having enough time to later.
> 
> BTW, thanks SO much for all the comments, critiques, and thoughts you all leave us! It's really fun to get ideas from the audience's perspective, and lets us know your enjoying the story (or not) so far!
> 
> Enjoy.

 

0 - 0 - 0

**All's Fair in Love and… Well… Love**

_Chapter 11_

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Weekends are odd days. Seeing Weiss wearing tight jeans and a fitted cotton t-shirt is always a pleasure, but Saturdays are also filled with sports competitions, homework, and other time-sucking activities that leave little to no time for flirtation.

After the luxury of being woken an hour later than usual, the girls of the Schnee dorm are encouraged to eat breakfast and then ushered up and onto the playing field to support their dorm's soccer team in a friendly competition against a rival dorm.

While Ruby takes a seat with Katt - and Penny, who snuck away from her other friends to catch up with Ruby on her first few weeks at Atlas - on one of the many wooden benches surrounding the field, her battered ribs forcing her to watch instead of participare, banned from inclusion in all sports until her body is healed, Ruby finds her attention divided between the pre-game warm-ups and Weiss.

Standing with a small cluster of other teachers and their deputies, she is sipping from a travel mug of hot coffee, her neck wrapped in a thin woolen scarf - dyed the snowy white of the Schnee dorm. The other teachers are bearing the colors of their respective dorms.

Ruby's nethers spasm every time she looks at Weiss, the memory of the previous night causing ripples of arousal to flutter through the very deepest part of her core, those muted sensations rising to a pulsing, lingering lust as Weiss separates from the clique and rejoins her dorm.

"Can you scoot over?" she asks her girls, wiggling her hips in between Ruby and Katt, squashing herself tightly between them. Penny, on Ruby's other side, is only jostled a little bit. "Mmm, snug." She shakes from side to side, bumping the three girls out a little more.

She settles herself just in time, the whistle blowing and the game commencing. One goal and three fouls later, Ruby can feel her leg twitching, her foot tapping agitatedly on the grass.

Weiss apparently notices; she lifts and eyebrow and nudges her. "How soon can you play again?"

"Two months." Ruby bites on a fingernail. "Their defense sucks ass."

"What's your position?"

"Midfielder. Right or left, doesn't matter," she answer seriously, then giggles. "We're still talking about soccer, right?"

Weiss keeps her eyes on the game, answering quietly. "Midfielder is an important position to be. You're right in the middle of things, aren't you? Your ball handling skills must be excellent."

Ruby pulls a face. "Gag me with a spoon!"

Weiss smirks behind her mug. "You're naked, by the way." She takes a sip, her eyes sliding down Ruby's frame. "Why aren't you wearing Schnee colors yet?"

Ruby glances at Weiss' scarf, then back to the field. "I'm waiting for my dad to send me my allowance so I can buy one. Don't worry - I'm not planning to defect or anything."

"Here-" Weiss laughs, unwrapping her scarf from her neck. "-you can wear mine."

As she pulls off the scarf, Ruby spots a purple, bite-shaped bruise at the edge of her neck, right above the collarbone.

"Yowza, Weiss," Penny remarks, eyeballing the mark from her side. "What happened to you?"

Despite being clearly visible teeth impressions, Weiss clears her throat, adjusting the collar of her shirt to cover it from the other girls.

"Okay, you caught me." She balances her mug between her knees and wraps her arms around both Ruby and Katt, drawing them close, pretending she is letting them in on a secret. Penny leans in as well. "I  _might_  have a bottle of Atlesian Ice Wine stashed away for a rainy day. And I  _might_  have treated myself to a glass or two. And I  _might_  have had a little accident last night." Her gaze lands on Ruby.

For some reason, Weiss' words irk Ruby. "A little accident?" She glares incredulously at the older girl. "Really?"

"Must'a been one helluva accident," Katt snorts, turning her attention back to the game.

"Yeah. One hell of a big, fucking accident." Ruby jerks herself free of Weiss, balls up the scarf, and tosses it into her lap, storming away.

Angered and annoyed, she leaves the field and seeks refuge in the campus, wanting to be alone. She wanders aimlessly down the halls, checks her scroll for messages, follows up with friends' news, reminds her dad to send her allowance sooner rather than later - she still owes Katt for the cigarettes, among other things - and finally winds up, to her mild surprise, at a hallway full of sports memorabilia.

Some of Atlas' former pupils have gone on to win awards - medals, even - with their achievements documented here, alongside their school medals. In one trophy cabinet, there are several pictures of a tall redhead, whom Ruby now easily recognizes as Pyrrha Nikos. There are some newspaper clippings, and a first place trophy for a national gymnastics competition, donated to the school by her parents.

"Comparing?"

Ciel's voice startles Ruby into spinning around.

"What?" She steps back reflexively, scrunching up her face in annoyance. "Fuck off."

Ignoring Ruby's words, Ciel approaches slowly, her eyes tracing the clippings and awards lining the wall. "Seeing how you measure up to the old girlfriend? I really don't see it. I mean, she's tall, your short. She has green eyes, and you have silver. But hey, I guess that's what flips Weiss' switch these days." She slides up alongside Ruby. "Hell, your tits are like, half the size even." She reaches around and grabs Ruby's left breast.

"Fuck you!" Ruby smacks Ciel's hand away, stepping away from her reach."What's your problem?" She stamps her foot and glares at her unwelcome groper.

"Lately, you're my problem." Ciel steps into Ruby's space and gives her a push, jabbing her in the ribs.

"Why?" Ruby stands her ground, gritting her teeth to hide the pain that lances through her body. "What did I ever do to you? Besides exist."

"I told you to stay away from her." Ciel keeps advancing on Ruby, her eyes narrowed to slits. "It's for your own good."

"Oh, yeah? How's that?" Ruby snarls, flicking her eyes up to the corner of the room and spying a surveillance camera slowly revolving back and forth. Emboldened by the idea of proof if Ciel gets too physical, she squares up to her aggressor. "You gonna hit me again?" She straightens her shoulders, standing almost to Ciel's nose but not caring in the least. "Go on. Give it your best shot. Let's see where it gets you this time. Suspension, maybe? Or expulsion? Whatever happens, you sure as fuck won't scare me away from Weiss."

"Hey, hey," Ciel says, backing up a step, her hands held up in the air as if to prove that she is not a threat. "Relax. Like I said, It's for your own good. I'd  _hate_ to see you end up like poor old Pyrrha, after all." She juts out her lower lip, which only serves to prove how little she actually cares about such a thing.

"I don't get it." Ruby frowns. "What the hell happened to her, anyway? Everyone says she left."

"Oh, she totally did." Ciel folds her arms, her tone sardonic and laced with false sincerity. "She left - straight to her grave."

Ruby blinks, her stomach twisting and turning and threatening to toss up her breakfast. No wonder Weiss is so afraid to let go of Pyrrha, why she was always so careful about going too far too soon. She isn't just heartbroken - she's mourning.

"Was Pyrrha the girl who had the accident in the performance hall? Ruby asks softly, finally putting the pieces together in her mind.

"Accident?" Ciel laughs, her eyes flinty and dark. "Accident nothing; the stupid bitch killed herself." She leans forward, her nose inches away from Ruby's. "She hung herself above the stage using the counterweights. Weiss was the one who found there."

0 - 0 - 0

After four hours of solid schoolwork, the words on the pages start blurring together. The study room - thirty individual cubicles surrounding one large community table - is quiet, most of the other students having already retired from their homework for the evening. Most are now to be found watching television in the common area, or playing in the dorms.

All except Ruby.

Seated at the main table, she gets about halfway through her second attempt at a creative narrative for Weiss' class when her concentration starts to wane. She yawns loudly, cracks her neck, and soldiers on, determined to hide herself away until bedtime.

She barely registers the sound of the door opening and closing, and the first hint that Weiss has joined her is the now-familiar scent of the girl's perfume, followed by the faint sound of breathing.

"Ruby," Weiss calls demurely from the edge of the room. "Have you been avoiding me? I haven't seen you since this morning."

Actually, she had been. Weiss' earlier nonchalant attitude at what happened the previous night irked her more than Ruby let on. "Not really," she says anyway, huching further over the desk. "Just busy."

"Did you eat dinner?" Weiss approached from behind, stepping up behind her. "I didn't see you in the cafeteria."

"I made a sandwich."

Weiss places her hands on Ruby's shoulders and squeezes gently. Ruby flinches, her pen freezing in the middle of her sentence, making her discomfort clear.

Rejected, Weiss withdraws. "You've been in her here for hours." She pulls out a chair beside Ruby and sits down. "What are you working on?"

The words slip out before Ruby can stop them. "My suicide note."

The sudden silence in painful. Ruby grits her teeth and tries to stay focused on her notebook, waiting for an angry rebuke that never comes. When thirty seconds pass and there is still nothing, she chances a glance at Weiss.

She is staring, wide-eyed at Ruby, her hands over her mouth in horror. Her eyes are a shimmering azure - a tell-tale sign of tears threatening to spill out at Ruby's cutting remark.

And she immediately feels like shit.

She tosses her pen down, spinning around in her chair to reach up and take Weiss' hands in hers.

"I'm sorry." She squeezes Weiss' hands, meaning every word. "I didn't mean that. That was an absolutely shitty thing for me to say."

"It- It's… okay." Weiss struggles to swallow, her lips trembling. After a moment, she regains some of her poise. "I think I probably deserved that."

"No, you don't." Shamed at her careless disregard for Weiss' feelings, Ruby almost cries herself. "I don't want to hurt you."

She turns back to her spot on the table and dumps the contents of her backpack out, spilling pencils, a ruler, tampons, several erasers, two chocolate bars, an assortment of notepads, her day planner, and… there - a pack of tissues! She pulls one from the pack and swivels back to Weiss, careful not to step on her feet.

"Here." She hands over the tissue. "No more tears. Or else you'll set me off."

"Thank you." Weiss dabs at her eyes and blows her nose quietly. "I don't think it's proper for me to cry in front of a student."

"I'm not your student," Ruby contests. "At least, that's not  _all_  I am." She places a hand on Weiss' thigh. "I hope I mean more to you than that."

"Oh, Ruby, of course you do. I'm terrified by how you make me feel. But that doesn't stop me from feeling it."

"I'll be careful. I promise." Ruby seeks out Weiss' fingertips with her own, brushing skin against skin. "I know why you're so careful. And scared. I promise something like that won't happen with me. I won't-" She stops herself. But it is already too late.

Weiss' chin trembles, and she sucks in a hitched breath. It takes her a moment to form words.

"You found out about Pyrrha." It is not a question.

Ruby nods.

"Who told you?"

"Ciel."

Weiss scoffs, rolling her eyes. "Of course she did."

"Why is she such a bitch?" Ruby has to ask.

"Ruby…" Weiss puts her hand on her forehead, obviously thinking of the best way to say what she wants to. "Please don't be rude."

"Why not? She  _is_  a bitch. She acts like you belong to her. Did you know that?"

"She gets jealous," Weiss mutters dismissively.

"I'd call it possessive."

"She's just lonely."

"She's insane," Ruby counters sharply. "She fucking cracked my rib!"

In an instant, Weiss' eyes sharpen and her concern shift entirely to Ruby, her own mood clearly forgotten. " _She_  did that to you!? Why wouldn't you tell me?"

Ruby winces, for once wishing she had better control over of mouth. "Please don't say anything to her. It's not worth it."

"But I-"

Ruby hushes Weiss by putting a finger to her lips. "You know it won't help."

Weiss is silent for a few seconds, her jaw working behind closed lips. Ruby knows it as much as Weiss; if she  _were_  to say anything - whether to the school or Ciel herself - it would only fuel the girl's animosity. In light of that, she nods stiffly, and Ruby lowers her hand.

"Ruby, can we talk about last night?"

"Was it really an accident?" Ruby asks, going straight to the point.

Weiss shakes her head. "I acted impulsively, but I knew what I was doing."

"You fucked me," Ruby presses her simply.

"I know." Weiss' voice is barely above a whisper.

"Do you regret it?"

After a while, "Yes."

Ruby snarls, trying to stand, but Weiss grabs her by the forearm to keep her in her chair, cupping her face with her other hand to ensure eye contact.

"I shouldn't have done it that way," she explains quickly. "You deserve better than a sneaky, clumsy, drunken late night quickie in the dormitory. It was disrespectful of me to do that to you."

Ruby forces herself to nod. "But what you do with Ciel… what you  _used_ to do with her…"

Weiss cringes, her face reddening with shame. "Did she tell you about that, too?"

"No, I saw you. On my first night here, I saw you standing outside the door while she... " Ruby trails off, her meaning evident.

"I've never touched her," Weiss swears, and Ruby believes it. "I've never done anything more than what you saw, and I haven't done that since we-"

She seems set to make a proclamation, but then stops, changing her mind.

"You should get upstairs," she says instead. "I sent everyone up before I came here. It's past curfew."

Ruby nods, pushing away from Weiss and the table, clearing up her things. Before she leaves, she turns back to Weiss. "I really do love you, you know. I won't stop telling you that."

She gives her a chaste peck on the cheek before heading upstairs.

The dorm is unusually silent as Ruby enters, despite being filled to the brim with girls. As she as she shuts the door behind her, she knows something is amiss. Voices drop down to whispers, then trail off completely. Every eye is on her.

"What's going on?" she asks.

No one answers.

She slowly makes her way down the aisle toward her cubicle, waiting for the lien to drop. They could not possibly know that she was alone with Weiss, could they? Did someone eavesdrop? Has Ciel said something? Why would she?

One more step.

And another.

And then, Ruby catches sight of what has everybody so quiet.

Spread out on her bedspread, like a sandy brown serpent, is a length of rope.

Cut from the a spool of rope found backstage in the performance hall, the rope has been laid out precisely, the knot tied tight into what Ruby recognizes as a noose. She tears her eyes away from the rope to find a note pinned to the end:

_Go on. You know you want to._

"Who did this?" Ruby growls, already knowing who the culprit is. She drops her backback at the foot of her cubicle, pivoting to lock eyes with Ciel. " _You!_ "

She takes a step towards the girl, and Ciel matches her. The two seem set to meet in the middle of the aisles, their eyes blazing, but a flurry kicks off. Girls from all sides - including Katt - dart in from their cubicles, keeping the two apart, shrieking and yelling.

Moments later, Weiss storms in.

"What's going on?" she demands from the doorway.

The room falls deathly silent.

Weiss looks from left to right, from one startled pair of eyes to another, waiting for an explanation. When none comes, she strides into the room, walking to the closest girl to demand an some sort of answer. Ruby rushes forward to meet her.

"It's alright," she says, putting her hands on Weiss' shoulders. "I can deal with it."

Weiss freezes, flashing Ruby a warning glare: Back off.

"Take care of what?"

Ruby snatches her hands back from Weiss' shoulders, but keeps her barred from the aisles. "You don't need to see this, Weiss. Please."

At Ruby's tone in front of the other girls, Weiss' eyes harden. Now visibly angry, she clenches her jaw and pushes Ruby aside. Katt ' _eeps_ ' and makes a dive for Ruby's cubicle to try and hide the noose, but she trips and falls over another girl.

Weiss steps over Katt, and her eyes finally take in the morbid scene. Her entire frame tenses up, her eyes wide and unblinking. Her shoulders start to shake, her hands trembling by her sides. Her chest heaves, and she visibly swallows. At first, Ruby thinks she might cry like she did minutes before, but as the seconds pass and Weiss' countenance slowly hardens, it seems as though the storm has passed.

With an almost physical effort, Weiss pulls herself straight, her cheeks flushed and her breathing slow and heavy. She turns away from the cubicle and slowly walks back down the aisle.

She heads straight to Ciel.

When Weiss reaches her, she stands nose to chin. Even though Weiss is at least half a foot shorter than Ciel, she manages to be the most intimidating thing in the room.

"Burn it," she hisses savagely.

With that, she stalks away and leaves the room, slamming the door behind her.

0 - 0 - 0

**End of Chapter 11**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Yowza. Pissed off!Weiss is kinda scary. Maybe Ciel will finally get what she deserves? *shrug* We'll have to see.
> 
> Now if you all will excuse me, I'm going to go and crawl into a deep, dark hole of accounting and taxes for the next seven days.
> 
> Cheers.
> 
> ***Will work for glomps***


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: We own nothing. This is for entertainment purposes only.
> 
> A/N: Hey all! Super sorry for the delay. Stuff and things. Ya'know.
> 
> Anyway! Hopefully we can get some questions answered!
> 
> Enjoy.

0 - 0 - 0

**All's Fair in Love and… Well… Love**

_Chapter 12_

0 - 0 - 0

Ruby cannot get comfortable. She tosses from left to right and back again, rolling with such force that she nearly throws herself out of bed on more than one occasion. Tormented by the thought of Weiss locked in her private room, probably crying, alone, and in need of a friend, sleep eludes her, her heart aching with sympathy for Weiss' grief.

While Ruby can never say she had a girlfriend die on her before, her mother's death still stung like it had just happened yesterday.

She is still awake when the sun finally rises, and she lies tucked into a tight ball, waiting for the melodious cadence of Weiss' warm voice to sweep through the dorm, sticking steadfastly to the routine as she knows she must.

But eight thirty comes and goes, and the dorm remains silent. Groggy and tired, Ruby grabs for her scroll on the bedside table, confirming the current time: eight forty-five. Weiss has never woken them up even a minute late, and now it is almost nine o'clock. Maybe she forgot to set her alarm? Maybe she slept badly, too? Maybe--

The dormitory door slams back on its hinges, an unfamiliar perfume wafting in, and an irritable, curt voice rouses the girls in the Schnee Dorm without care for their states.

Rubbing her eyes, Ruby rolls into her back, squinting at the frumpy figure making her way through the room.

It's Professor Ansel.

"Up!" the older woman commands them harshly, banging on the cubicle walls. "I can't have you girls lying about in bed all day! Ups-a-daisy!"

Ruby is the last on to comply, vainly hoping that Weiss may yet to arrive to take over for the sullen professor, purring out an apology for her tardiness before clapping her hands together and ushering them all into the bathroom. Unfortunately, all she gets for her hesitation is a slap on the ankle.

"Get up!" Ansel barks at her. "Lazybones!"

Though she has had next to nothing in the way of rest, Ruby drags herself out from under the covers and stumbles with the others toward the bathroom, taking a long look at the closed and locked door to Weiss' private rooms.

Clinging to the possibility that her always prompt and reliable dorm leader may simple not have had the heart to enter the dormitory so soon after last night's cruel stunt, Ruby gets cleaned and dressed as quickly as she can -- in neat but casual clothes, as is permitted on Sundays -- and dashes downstairs, determined to restore the light in those ice chip blue eyes… if she can only find them.

The door to Weiss' study is open, but the room itself is empty. She is not in the common room, nor in the kitchen, and there is no other sign of her anywhere Ruby can see in the dorm. Fearing that something may be afoot, she resorts to talk to Professor Ansel, corning her in the kitchen after breakfast.

"Where's Weiss?"

Professor Ansel fiddles with the buttons on the dishwasher, squinting through her glasses to see which ones to press, too busy working her way through Weiss' morning chores as well as her own to give Ruby even a moment of her time.

"What Miss Schnee does on her days off is none of your concern," she snaps over her shoulder, her tone brooking no argument.

"Is she alright?" Ruby persists. "When will she be coming back?"

"Look--" Ansel glares at her. "I don't know what your game is, but Weiss doesn't deserve all this nonsense. She's kind and affectionate, and you little vermin are all the same; you take advantage of her." The irritated teacher gives the floor a cursory once-over with a broom. "Thankless takers, the whole lot of you."

Ruby shakes her head stiffly. "I wouldn't ever do anything to hurt her."

Ansel snorts derisively, but does not comment.

"She is coming back, isn't she?" Ruby pushes for answers.

Doing her best to ignore the teenager, Professor Ansel carries about her business, first putting away her broom, then wiping down the tables. Undeterred, Ruby waits, grabbing Ansel's arm when she turns to leave the room.

"Is Weiss coming back?"

Blinking rapidly at the child's impudence, Ansel's eyes flash and Ruby instinctively fears that the older woman might retaliate physically in some way. But the look passes as soon as it comes, and the woman sighs heavily, pity taking its place on her face.

"She shouldn't, if she has any sense at all."

With that, the teacher tears herself away, leaving Ruby alone, her fears unabated. A rumble of hunger gurgles in her belly, but her heartache for Weiss has her wound up in knots, and she takes no more than a bite of toast before she feels nauseous.

And then she notices the burning smell.

After ruling out the possibility that she has accidentally set fire to the brand new toaster, she follows the stink through the back door, tracing it to and old barbeque on the lawn, in which she finds Ciel burning the piece of rope she had fashioned into a noose in the middle of a patch of dried grass and twigs.

Ruby should just walk away. She knows this. But she does not.

"Are you happy now? Is this what you wanted?" Ruby steps towards the older girl, standing close enough that she can feel the heat from the fire. "Weiss is gone."

Ciel stays silent, poking the burning rope with a stick, turning it and rolling it like she is cooking a long sausage, her eyes focused on the task.

"Why are you even doing this to her? Why are you being such a bitch?" Ruby steps as close as she dares, the flames flickering, licking furiously in all directions, twisting in time with the slight breeze. "She doesn't love you, you know."

Then Ciel spins around to face her -- the burnt stick clenched to tightly in her hand that her knuckles are white with tension -- and Ruby stumbles back a few paces, tripping over an old bench and falling ass first into a pile of dead leaves.

Ciel tosses the stick into the dirt, her lips a thin line on her face.

"Everything was fine until you came here," she hisses, turning back to the dorm and leaving Ruby alone.

Once again by herself, Ruby picks dead leaves out of her hair, thankful that she fell on her own terms -- mostly, anyway -- before Ciel had the chance to do it herself.

For the rest of the day, Ruby makes and concerted effort to avoid the company of others -- even Katt -- and grumps about in a mope, barely eating, even skipping the traditional Sunday barbeque dinner in the cafeteria. Unable to concentrate on even the simplest task, her homework and designated chores go neglected, leaving Professor Ansel to mark her down in her record for laziness.

Come bedtime, she has no intention of sleeping. She lies awake for several hours, listening for the rumble of a car engine, or a bus, or the sound of the main door. When she feels herself drifting into slumber, exhaustion getting the better of her, she creeps out of bed and into the hall, settling resolutely in front of the door to Weiss' room.

Must stay awake, she thinks to herself.

_Must stay awake._

_Must… stay… awake…_

_Must… stay…_

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It must have been three in the morning by the time Weiss turns the corner into the dimly lit hallway of the Schnee dorm. She is exhausted, both physically and mentally, and wants nothing more than to fall into her bed -- clothes and all -- and sleep soundly until morning. She is both surprised, and chagrined, to spot a crumple of dark hair, pale skin, and white cotton lying limply at the door of her private quarters.

Her shoes clicking softly on the floor, she steadily approaches the slowly heaving mass and crouches beside it, finding Ruby sound asleep, her head resting awkwardly against the door, her hair flopped in front of her face.

She is only wearing her pajama top and a pair of pink panties, the hem of her shirt bunched up around her hips, and Weiss can tell its affording the girl little warmth. Her arms are hugged tightly around her midsections, obviously trying to preserve as much body heat as she can, almost every bit of bare skin prickled with gooseflesh.

Weiss extends a hand to wake her, brushing a thick lock of hair out of her eyes, tucking it behind her ear, startled to find her cold to the touch.

"Ruby," she murmurs softly, to no effect.

For attempt number two, she lays a warm hand on Ruby's exposed ankle. "Sweetie," she whispers against Ruby's ear, gliding her hand up the girl's smooth calf and thigh, edging up to the bottom of her panties.

Ruby's pale eyes flutter open, taking a moment to adjust, and widen in surprise to see Weiss kneeling before her.

"You came back!" She lunges forward, flinging her arms around Weiss' neck with such force that she nearly knocks the young teacher off her feet.

Weiss squeals, bracing herself against the wall. "Always so excited!"

Ruby buries her face in Weiss loose, snow-white tresses, inhaling deeply. "I missed you so much." she clutches fistfulls of Weiss' hair and jacket, grabbing at any part of her that she can get her hands on. "I've been so worried about you."

"Shhh," Weiss soothes her, reaching up to unlock the door. "Come with me."

She helps Ruby onto her feet and leads her inside, setting her down on the sofa, rubbing her hands along the girl's chilled arms, trying to coax some warmth into them.

"Can I get you something to drink? Something warm?"

Ruby's smile is wide and her eyes sparkle, but her voice is teasing. "Are you offering me some booze?"

Weiss sheds her jacket -- leaving her in one of her standard skirt and blouse ensembles -- and pulls a bottle of amber liquid from the bottom drawer of her desk.

Ruby giggles gleefully. "Oh my  _god_ , you rock so hard."

"Thank my lush of a big sister. I'm only giving you a drop to warm you up," Weiss warns, pouring what she would consider a very generous drop into a glass beaker she repurposed from the science lab. "I'm not getting you drunk."

She hands Ruby the beaker and sits beside her on the sofa, wrapping one arm around her shoulders, pressing the other into her chest, lightly squeezing her side.

Ruby winces. "Owie."

"Oh--" Weiss pulls her arm back. "I'm sorry. I forgot."

Ruby sniggles tighter, the beaker still in her grasp. "Don't apologize. I like having you close to me." She peers down at Weiss' shoes, spying the dirt on what was usually a pristine pair of heels. "Where were you today?"

"What does that matter?" Weiss kisses the side of Ruby's head, skirting around the subject of her whereabouts. "I'm here now."

"I'm sorry. I'm not trying to pry." Ruby sips at the drink, pulls a face at the taste of whiskey. Weiss can sympathise -- she never cared for the taste of hard liquor, not like her sister at least. "I was just afraid, that's all."

"Afraid?"

"That you wouldn't come back." Ruby braves another sip.

"You dolt. I wouldn't do that to you." Weiss nuzzles her face into Ruby's hair. "If it will ease your mind to know, I went to visit Pyrrha. It's a long way, and that's why I was gone so long." She strokes Ruby's head. "There's no need to worry."

Ruby glances again at the traces of dirt on Weiss' shoes, her face clear when the connection was made. "You visited her grave?"

"Sort of. She was returned to her family in Mistral. I couldn't travel all that way in a single day, so I just went to the Atlas National Cemetery. It's only half a day by coach. It's not quite the same thing… but it's something."

Ruby nods, taking another sip from the beaker. "Weiss, what Ciel did--"

"I don't want to talk about it," Weiss shuts her down. "Please."

"Are you in love with her?" Ruby says after downing the rest of the whiskey. "Is that why you keep putting on the brakes when you're with me?"

Weiss grimaces, shaking her head. "I don't belong to Ciel any more than I do any of the other girls here." She takes the empied beaker from Ruby and sets it on the coffee table. "None of them have ever been alone with me in my room. None of them have ever kissed me, or… touched me. And I haven't done any of that with them, either."

"But Pyrrha was different?"

Weiss takes a deep breath, nodding slowly. "Pyrrha was different.  _You're_  different." She tightens her grip around Ruby's shoulders. "You make me weak."

That had been one of Weiss' very first confessions to Ruby, and she means it just as much now as she did back then.

Clasping her hand tightly in her lap, Ruby picks at a chip in one of her fingernails. "Do I remind you of her?"

"Yes," Weiss answers honestly, stroking at the side of Ruby's hair. That was true; while Ruby didn't resemble Pyrrha much physically, they did share more than one personality trait.

"Is that why you like me?" Ruby keeps her eyes down on her hands. "You wish I was her?"

"No!" Weiss answers quickly, pressing a series of kisses all over Ruby's cheek, venturing closer to her mouth with each one. "I won't lie, that's why you caught my eye in the first place; your personality is so much like hers, and why my defenses dropped so easily around you. But that was just at the beginning." She nudges Ruby's nose with her own in an affectionate nuzzle. "It's you I'm attracted to, Ruby." She pulls the girl more deeply into her embrace. "It's you I've spent hours with in my study, flirting and talking, having the most wicked thoughts, and becoming hopelessly, madly lost in your eyes."

Twisting in the older girl's arms, Ruby strains her neck to make eye contact. "Will you tell me what happened between you and Pyrrha?"

"Why?" Weiss' grip relaxes.

"Because I want you to stop holding back." Ruby illustrates her mouth by clamping down on Weiss' shoulder, coaxing firmness into her touch. "You always pull away from me whenever her name is mentioned."

"I don't mean to." Weiss caresses Ruby's cheel, exploring her face. She sighs softly. "Pyrrha loved me too much, and I allowed her to. I let my boundaries slip when I knew I shouldn't have, she paid the price for it."

"You dated in secret?" Ruby hedges.

"It wasn't so much a secret as it was done subtly," Weiss explains. "The staff tended to turn a blind eye to relationships that go on here, but Professor Wilkins still does't approve. That and because of who my family is…" She grimaces. "Well, suffice to say if word got out, the both of us could have gotten into trouble." She looks down at the girl in her arms. "She was a transfer, just like you, except she was already eighteen. She'd graduated somewhat early and accepted a scholarship at a higher education academy in Mistral -- where she could focus on sports -- and when an injury lost her the position there, she enrolled here."

"You loved her?"

Weiss nods, feeling a tear shake loose with the movement."What Pyrrha and I did wasn't illegal -- after all, I was already eighteen, and so was she. But the school did not approve, and I knew my family wouldn't either. We weren't even in any of the same classes, but we still saw more of each other than anyone else." Looking down, she fidgets with the hem of Ruby's nightshirt. "It was that thought alone -- the knowledge that I wanted to stay at Atlas and teach -- that kept me awake at night and in constant fear of being found out. By My family, by everyone."

Ruby nods in understanding. "With how everybody already seems to know what happened between you two, I'm actually surprised you're still here. The old bat must really wanna keep you."

Weiss snorts at the moniker for Professor Wilkins. "It's my family's money she wants, not me. My family had been benefactors of this school for generations." Weiss focuses back on Ruby. "I'm sorry. I digress." She reaches out and tucks a lock of hair behind her ear. "I want you to know I don't look at anyone else the way I look at you… or the way I looked at Pyrrha."

"What about Ciel?"

"That… isn't what you think it is." Weiss hesitates, but steels herself. Ruby deserved the whole truth. "After Pyrrha… killed herself, she gave me an outlet for my grief."

Ruby blinks slowly, the pieces coming together in her mind. "She took advantage of you?" She reaches out and brushes a tear away from Weiss' cheek.

Weiss smiles appreciatively, nuzzling her face against Ruby's hand. "She found me in Pyrrha's cubicle after all her things had been packed away. I thought I was alone in the dorm, so I thought I would be able to grieve in peace. She came into the room and…" She swallows, her entire frame shuddering from the memory. "She touched herself in front of me." She covers her face with her hand, her cheeks prickling with shame. "She sounded just like Pyrrha did when we-- she must have overheard and…

"It turned you on," Ruby concludes, sparing Weiss from having to say it herself.

"If I closed my eyes, I could almost swear she was--" Weiss pauses, her meaning clear. "Anyway, now there's you, and Ciel feels displaced. She should have graduated long ago, but I think she's expecting to… well, you know."

Ruby strokes her hand down Weiss' arm, trailing her nails along soft skin. "I know, and I can't really blame her for wanting you." The hand moves lower, touching her waist. "You're perfect."

Weiss scoffs, shaking her head. "I need to handle things with her. This has gotten out of hand. I can't have you threatening and hurting you."

Ruby's hand travels back up from Weiss' waist to her breast, and Ruby starts to nuzzle her neck, kissing and biting the pale skin there, and worming her fingers inside her blouse.

"Oh, Ruby, what are you doing?" Weiss sighs gently, her eyes fluttering shut. "Did that whiskey do to your head?"

"I want you," Ruby whispers, dipping her hand inside Weiss' bra, seeking out her nipple and pinching it, teasing it. "All of you."

"I know you do," Weiss whines, using all of her willpower to push Ruby's hand away. "But did anyone see you leave the dorm room?"

  
Ruby shakes her head, making another bid for re-entry into Weiss' blouse.

"Are you sure?" Weiss presses.

Ruby nods, drawing Weiss into a kiss, somehow knowing exactly what she is really asking. "Ciel's asleep. She snores like an entire herd of farm animals."

In the midst of their kiss, Weiss' grip on Ruby's hand relaxes, allowing the girl to slip inside her bra, palming a handful of bare breast. Her breathing quickens as Ruby's kisses drop lower, heading straight for cleavage.

"Wait, Ruby," Weiss murmurs, hooking the girl's chin and tilting her head up. "I want to tell you something."

"What?" Ruby nudges Weiss' nose with hers.

Weiss slowly removes Ruby's hand from her bra, licks her lips, and starts guiding it downwards. "Like a summer storm, it pours, damp and warm. The smell of life, the sound of love, and the taste of regret, for I have never lived like I have never loved during then."

Ruby blinks, her eyes glazed, but still attentive. "Um, what?"

Smiling furtively, Weiss parts her legs and tugs Ruby's hand up her skirt. "It means, I'm so wet for you."

And she is not lying. Ruby groans as her hand touches Weiss, and she positions herself for better leverage and dives inside Weiss' sodden panties, thrusting two fingers inside her in one sure movement, coaxing a deep groan out of the older girl.

Ruby's thrusts are steady and slow, her palm rubbing against the top of her crevice, her fingers curling and exploring, intent on quickly and efficiently bringing Weiss to the very edge of a powerful climax, and then… then she pulls away.

Weiss mewls discontently, canting her hips up toward the retreating fingers, trying to recapture them, but Ruby resists.

"I want to taste you," the girl declares, sliding down off the sofa. Kneeling between Weiss' legs, she grabs the hem of her lacy underwear and tugs them down, tossing them onto the sofa. In full surrender, Weiss slides her hips forward, spreading her legs shamelessly and hiking up her skirt.

"You're the first since…" she trembles slightly, her tongue poking out to sweep across her lips. "There's been no one else."

Ruby's eyes sparkle, her expression proving that she understand the enormity of Weiss' words, and she slows her approach, taking her time to fully appreciate what is being offered to her.At the apex of Weiss' thighs, she inhales deeply, sending an arousing shiver through Weiss' body, and Ruby brings both hands up, her thumbs teasing Weiss' folds apart, baring her to Ruby's exploration.

"I love you so much," she whispers, trailing kisses up Weiss' inner thighs, working her way toward her prize.

When she finally does reach her goal she drops a single kiss on the small patch of downy hair on Weiss' mound, then slips lower, flicking her tongue below and around the swollen nub of her clit before moving lower still, probing at her opening with her hot tongue.

Weiss sucks in a sharp breath, her hands fisting in Ruby's hair, gathering her bangs and pulling them out of her face, giving her an unrestricted view of her head as it bobs between her legs. She keens softly, biting her lip and trying to stay as silent as she can, the only sound in the room her gasps and the erotic sounds coming from Ruby's mouth as she worked. Weiss can feel herself start to lose control and she arches her back, her thighs shaking and her toes curling in her shoes.

She clutches the back of Ruby's head, hooking one leg over her shoulder, a stream of whispered expletives sneaking through her lips as Ruby digs her tongue deeply between her folds and she finally comes.

Ruby doesn't resurface until Weiss' orgasm has completely passed, her arms and legs slumping bonelessly at her sides and her body going limp on the sofa. Even then, she stays where she is, resting her cheek on Weiss' thigh, stroking her skin with her fingertips.

When Weiss finally opens her eyes, she fins Ruby smiling up at her.

"I didn't hold back," Weiss pants breathlessly. "I don't want to." she reaches down and rubs her thumbs across Ruby's shining lips. "Not with you. Not anymore."

"Please don't be afraid to love me." Ruby kisses her palm.

Leaning forward, Weiss pulls Ruby up into a wet, sloppy kiss. "Give me some time." Another kiss. "Please be patient with me."

"I should get back to the dorm." The girl pulls herself up off her knees. "I'll be able to sleep better now that I know you're okay."

Weiss smiles as she slips away. "Good night, Ruby." She tosses a small ball of waded up fabric at her departing lover. Ruby barely manages to catch it, and her eyebrows lift into her bangs when she sees Weiss' still-damp panties in her hand.

  
She grins. "Good night, Weiss."

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**End of Chapter 12**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hmm some questions are answered, but more remain.
> 
> Cheers.
> 
> ***Will work for glomps***


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: We own nothing. This is for entertainment purposes only.
> 
> A/N: Sorry for the delay! Hope you all had a couple of weeks. I've been sucked into Shovel Knight, Shantae, and now Hyrule Warriors on the Switch, so... yea...
> 
> I regret nothing.
> 
> Enjoy.

 

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**All's Fair in Love and… Well… Love**

_Chapter 13_

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The following morning, order is restored. Weiss strides into the dormitory right on time, waking the girls with a cheerful smile and a burst of energy. By the time she gets to Ruby's cubicle, the younger girl is already wide awake and throwing off her blankets.

Feigning a yawn, Ruby stretches, lifting her arms high over her head, causing the hem of her top to rise over her thighs to her hips, revealing her underwear - or rather, revealing Weiss' underwear.

"Good morning," Weiss murmurs, her eyes lingering on the racy sight. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yup." Ruby beams. "What about you?"

"Exceedingly." Weiss barely pauses on her arc of the room, continuing her circuit of awakenings. "Today is a new day." Her eyes fall briefly upon Ciel, but before her mood has a chance to sour, she glances back at Ruby, witnessing a thunk and a flail of arms and legs as the overly eager teen leaps out of bed too fast, catches her foot on the blanket, and face-plants onto the floor.

"Apparently I'm not the only hungry girl who's eager for the day to start," Weiss chuckles, retracing her steps to peer down at Ruby. The girl is lying half in and half out of her cubicle, her face a dark red. "Are you hurt?" Weiss offers her hand.

"Maybe she needs the kiss of life, Weiss!" Katt heckles from the neighboring cubicle, teetering precariously over the dividing wall between their spaces but still managing to balance herself perfectly. Her goofy grin is stretched wide across her face.

Ignoring the taunt, Ruby accepts Weiss' help with one hand, the other pressed to her ribs. "M'fine," she rasps. "Never better."

"Nothing a hearty breakfast won't cure." Weiss fixes her blue eyes on Ruby's silver ones."When you're ready, of course."

Ruby blinks, receiving the message loud and clear: if she hurries, they might be able to have a few minutes alone.

Filled with purpose, she gets her wriggle on and makes it down to the kitchen just after Weiss, arriving to find the older girl standing at the counter, licking strawberry jam off her fingers.

"For you, dear." Weiss pushes a plate of toast towards her, the slices already laden with jam, puts her fingers to her lips, shushing quietly.

"Thanks, Weiss." Ruby whispers, leaning forward to kiss Weiss' cheek, both hands on her waist.

"I can't stay." Weiss captures Ruby's lips between her own, murmuring softly as she feels Ruby's hands slide down to caress her backside. "I have to leave early for a staff meeting."

"Can I have you for a few minutes in your study?" Ruby coaxes her gently, peppering her mouth with kisses. She leans in further to breath into Weiss' ear, "I'm already wet."

"Mmm, if only." Weiss reluctantly breaks away and checks her watch. "But I have to be there. That means Professor Ansel will be doing to inspections this morning." She steps back. "Try not to get as carried away with her as you do with me, hmm?"

As the rest of the girls start to spill into the kitchen for breakfast, Weiss makes her way out, heading for the main school building. Much to her displeasure, she is about to spend the next forty minutes stuck in a stuffy boardroom, the carpet covered with coffees stains, the walls decorated with portraits of previous headmistresses, the antique Manageriean Wood table riddled with chewing gum on the other side.

An aroused and willing Ruby, her back against the top of her desk, sounds better and better with each step she takes.

Five minutes in, she is already bored. After thirty more minutes, she is positively sick to death of listening to Professor Wilkins prattle on about matters of little to no importance: arranging for someone to come and polish the weather vase, repainting the lines in the sports field, replacing the chocolate in the vending machines with granola bars and rice crackers - oh, HELL no! -, and decreasing kitchen costs by cutting back on 'frivolous cookie-baking'.

At that, Weiss struggles to stifle a laugh. It's only partially successful.

"Yes, Weiss?" Professor Wilkins glowers at her. "Is there something you'd like to add?"

Weiss holds up her hand, signaling no, and shares a smile with one of the younger teachers on the other side of the table. The other woman is just shy of thirty, and Weiss has often found herself a close ally with her in matters of school policy.

"Very well." Professor Wilkins shuffles her stack of notes. "Then if there's nothing else-"

Around the table,teachers and staff begin to rise.

"Just a moment," Weiss says, raising her and. "I have something else to add."

Professor Wilkins sighs, her one good eye falling on Weiss while the other continues to linger on a blank spot on the wall. "You couldn't have said as much before we were about to adjourn, Weiss?"

As Professor Wilkins often had a tendency to do, she treats Weiss' name with added harshness when she is irritated, making Weiss bristle with indignation. The older woman had always liked Winter more than Weiss.

Clearing her throat, Weiss stands. "I want to discuss the upcoming orchestra concert we have planned for our financial donors." She waits until everyone is reseated before continuing. "I thought we could… I thought we could open up the performance hall and host it there."

The room falls silent.

"So soon?" one of the other teachers asks after a long moment, scratching at her gray bob of hair with the eraser end of a pencil.

"Soon?" Weiss arches an eyebrow. "It's been almost a year. What else are we going to do? Let it fall into a state of disrepair? It seems silly not to utilize the full resources we have." She turns to Professor Wilkins. "I think the school is ready to forge ahead."

"And you? Are you ready to forge ahead?" Wilkins turns the question back on Weiss, her eyes flinty.

"Don't pretend you care." Weiss tosses back will all the coldness she can muster for her boss. "Are you going to allow us the use of the performance hall, or aren't you?"

The older woman eyes Weiss for a moment longer, and then nods. "If that is your wish, then I have no objection. However, do you have a plan to get it ready in time? The concert is just nine days away, and the older students are going away their weekend trip. They'll be gone until late Sunday, and the students participating will need time to both rehearse, and prepare the new venue." She pauses meaningfully. "At least, I was assuming you were planning to use them to this endeavor. Is that correct?"

Weiss shrugs, unfazed. "I can gather up some volunteers and have the job finished before they return, if you'll permit me to have some of them up past curfew."

"What's wrong with the hall we've been using all year?" the head of the drama department asks from her seat.

"It's an old gym hall with a temporary stage build in it." The younger teacher who commiserated with Weiss earlier chimed in. "It's a relic from before the new sports building was erected. It's not really appropriate for our purposes."

Professor Wilkins rolls her eye, the false one veering ever further to the left. "So be it." She makes a note and adds it to her stack. "Any other brilliant ideas, Weiss?" Her question is bitingly sardonic, clearly not expecting a response.

Weiss nods, soldiering on.

"Now that you mention it, I also thought some of the students currently enrolled in the after-class music club could be invited to perform this time." She turns her attention to the head of the music department. "I'm sure you have a few students in the program who might appreciate the opportunity to be included. Especially since they're often overlooked in favor of those enrolled in the more advanced programs, despite the fact that many of them are just as talented, if not more so, that the others."

"I take it you're referring to the Rose girl you forced on me?"

Weiss smiled innocently. "If you believe she is good enough."

The teacher waves a flippant hand, clearly not caring one way or another at this point. "As it happens, one of my soloists just came down with laryngitis. Rose may fill her spot if she wants." She leans back in her chair, shrugging. "It makes no difference to me."

"It's settled then," Wilkins proclaims, clearly itching to return to her normal duties. "And Weiss," she says, before the girl has a change to get up out of her chair. "Since your so set on it, you'll be heading the restoration and cleaning effort of the performance hall."

That suits Weiss just fine, and she sets the caretakers to work right away, removing the 'Do No Enter' signs and giving the place an initial cleaning and dusting. She is standing in the main doorway, watching the janitors give the red velvet curtains hanging from the proscenium arch above the stage a beating, when Ruby nudges up beside her, bumping her shoulder.

"I've just been asked to perform at the concert next week." She stands close to Weiss, and she shivers. Even the slight contact of their shoulders feels dangerously illicit, and Weiss loves it. "You wouldn't happen to know about that, would you?"

"Perhaps," Weiss replies.

Ruby is quiet for a long moment, before sighing. "You finally did it," she says, gesturing to the hall in front of them.

"You did it." Weiss stares wistfully into the hall.

"Huh? What did I do?"

"You make me happy, Ruby. Happier than I've been in a long time." Weiss feels out Ruby's hand between them, touching her fingers softly, not daring to be so reckless as to properly hold her hand. "This school needs to move on, and so do I." She pulls back, still too afraid to linger in their intimacy. "You made that clear to me last night."

Ruby's lips curl up into a vulpine grin. "I'll make it even clearer to you tonight, if you'll let me."

"Tonight?" Weiss smile matches Ruby's. "Tonight, I'll be looking for volunteers to help me get the performance hall ready. I can't promise that there'll be a chance for anything more than a bit of flirting, but it will mean the opportunity to stay up past curfew if you want to come and lend a hand after your evening study hour."

"What'll you be wearing?" Ruby asked, humming thoughtfully.

"Is that what your decision depends on?" Weiss smirks.

"Eh, every little bit helps."

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Ruby catches Weiss' eye as she enters the backstage area of the performance hall after rushing through her homework. Weiss, whose last class ended earlier that afternoon, had been there most the day since then, and when Ruby finally was able to join in on the restoration effort she finds Weiss balance precariously on a stepladder, paintbrush in hand, decorating a ten foot high set piece that would apparently form part of the backdrop for one of the songs being performed at the concert.

Other volunteers, at Weiss' instruction, are clearing out the dump of props and old set pieces at the back of the hall, disposing of anything broken and sorting the old costumes into piles according to whether or not they are useful, utter rubbish, or in need of mending. Meanwhile, in the wings, two or three of the drama students are bickering back and forth about the lighting system, and several more are hunched over the sound board, their task of plugging in the myriad of cables made only more daunting by their large number.

Footsteps up above - rubber-soled boots stomping over metal catwalks - reveal more girls, their tasks of switching out of color gels for newer ones in the lights, and making adjustments here and there, their giggling echoing down into the stage. One of them whistles down to Ruby, her head hanging down over one of the platforms, her bright tuft of red hair dangling down low.

It's Katt.

Once she has Ruby's attention, she tips her head in Weiss' direction, hinting in no uncertain terms that Ruby ought to grab this opportunity to approach their silently working dorm leader while she is by herself. Then, to make her point even clearer, she brings her hand to her face, holds two fingers on either side of her mouth, and wiggles her tongue between them in the universally accepted sign language for: "Lick away, Rubes! Lick away!"

Flipping Katt the biggest middle finger Ruby can manage - a cheeky scowl to go with it - Ruby turns away from Katt and goes to Weiss' aid. The older girl is now standing on her toes, trying to reach the corner of the set piece but also putting herself in danger of falling over.

"Do you need some help, Weiss?"

Ruby positions herself in the perfect place for Weiss to place a hand on Ruby's shoulder. In doing so, she also is in perfect place to look up at Weiss cleavage from below.

And it's soooo goooood.

Ruby puts a hand on Weiss' leg, just below her jean-covered thigh, to steady her. "I, um, I don't want you to fall," she mumbles at Weiss' arched eyebrow.

"Is that why you came over here?" Weiss smirks, but continues painting. "You were concerned for my safety?"

"You did look like you could use a hand." Ruby gives Weiss leg a squeeze.

"Is that so?" Weiss leans further forward, overextending herself on purpose, and squeals as the stepladder tips a little.

Ruby catches and rights her, planting both hands on Weiss' hips. "Well, maybe two hands are better than one."

"Indeed." Weiss drops the paintbrush on the floor, redirecting her free hand to Ruby's other shoulder, their faces just inches apart as she steps down from the ladder.

The closeness lingers until Weiss spots Ciel entering the performance hall, forcing her to step back to a more appropriate distance.

"Are you excited for the concert next week?"

"I'm not sure," Ruby says, eying the piano with some hesitation. "I've never performed in front of an audience before."

"I've heard that imagining your audience naked helps," Weiss smiles innocently.

"Well, I'll be playing for you, and I already do that all the time, so…" Ruby pins her eyes to Weiss chest, her lips quirking up at her own joke.

"Do you want to practice a little?" Weiss lets her enjoy the sight for a few more seconds, then spins Ruby around to the piano, giving her rump a light smack. "Go on, why don't you play a little. Give these girls a show. They can be your first audience."

Torn between running for the backroom and succumbing to the lure of the piano, the desire to please Weiss eventually winds above all else, and Ruby takes her place at the piano - albeit with slight reluctance.

After three false starts, she gets past the eighth bar and hits her stride, only striking five wrong notes from the beginning to the end of a love song she recalled with one woman in mind: Weiss.

Throughout the impromptu performance, Weiss lingers in the wings, grinning widely at Ruby. Ciel stands not too far off, her face impassive as she watches on. Before the last note dies away, Katt leaps down from the catwalk, lands in nimbly in only the way a cat Faunus can, and budges Ruby over on the bench, making the other girl smack down on the keys, causing a cacophonous din that echoes around the entire hall.

"That was brave as fuck, Ruby!"

"What do you mean?" Ruby covers the keys with the fallboard, if only to prevent another Katt-induced accident. "There's only, like fifteen people here, and most of them weren't listening."

"No, no, I mean-" Katt peers around, turning away from Ciel's stare." That song was about Weiss, right?" She drops her voice. "Dude, the last girl that publicly professed her love for Weiss ended up hanging from…" she flicks her eyes up to the rigging, then back down to Ruby.

The last girl? Pyrrha, obviously.

"Why did she do it?" Ruby asks quietly, not sure if she really wants to know, but at the same time desperately hungry for information. "Why did she kill herself?"

Katt hesitates, looking around again. The rest of the girls had gone back to work, so they were safe to talk a little.

"Well, Weiss denied everything; Pyrrha's public declaration...everything. And she just couldn't take being rejected like that. People were calling her a liar, saying that she was only after the attention and whatnot after her failure at pro sports. Wilkins told everyone she had issues, you know, up here-" she taps her temple with her finger.

At that moment, the students who've been diligently putting together a playlist for the intermission call it a night, leaving their equipment still hooked up and running. They walk away, and Ruby is about to tell Katt that they should do the same and return to the dorm when Ciel's voice sounded over the sound system.

"I have an idea for a song! How about something that says what a womanizing skank Weiss Schnee is?"

Ruby stops, her heart falling into the pit of her stomach.

Before anybody can say anything further, Weiss is stalking towards the sound system, her face pale and her eyes blazing. "Soleil! Shut that off this instant!"

"What's the matter? Don't like that idea?" Ciel simpers coldly. "Does that hit too close to home for you?"

Instead of replying, Weiss simply yanks for plugs on the sound system out, grabs Ciel by the elbow, and jerks her out of the performance hall. "Get back to the dorm! Now! And go straight to your cubicle; I don't want to see your face again until tomorrow!"

"Really?" Ciel gasps dramatically. "You mean you don't want me to wait up for you so you can finger yourself while I-"

Weiss snarls, slamming the door on her.

The silence that follows is deafening. Weiss presses her back against the wall, fighting to control her breathing. From left to right, all around the hall, she can visibly feel her students' eyes on her, wondering what to do or say next. After a long minute, she sucks in a breath and straightens.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, everyone." She rubs the back of her hand over her eyes. "We're done for the night. Go back to your dorms."

No one moves.

"Now!" She slaps her palm on the wooden panelling on the wall beside her, the sharp crack emphasising the order. Several girls jump before scurrying from the room.

Only Ruby is left.

Taking a chance that the order does not apply to her, Ruby slowly moves closer as Weiss fumbles with her scroll.

"I have to tell P-Professor Ansel that Ciel is on the way to the dorm." She stutters briefly, tapping in a few numbers and waiting for the other line to pick up. After a moment she relays the information to the older teacher. "Yes, see to it that she goes straight to her cubicle when she gets there. Neon Katt is not far behind."

She pauses, her eyes flicking to Ruby. She reaches out to touch the girl's hair with her fingers. Her eyes soften, her anger lessening. "I'm not sure when we'll be back, we have much more work to do. Yes. Thank you."

"A late night, huh?" Ruby smirks as Weiss shuts off the device. She steps forward and puts her hands on Weiss' waist. "What shall we do now?" She kisses Weiss' chin. "Now that we're alone?"

"What do you think?" Weiss replies, wrapping her fingers around the collar of Ruby's shirt, tugging her forward for another kiss. "Though, we ought to behave ourselves."

"I hope you're just teasing me." Ruby strokes Weiss' waist. "I mean, if you said you wanted to put on the brakes now, I'm not too sure I'd listen. Not after last night. I'm still kinda chomping at the bit here."

She is playing it down, but truthfully, Ruby knows she wouldn't be able to back away from the promise of physical intimacy with Weiss any more than she could turn down her favorite cookies. It is just too irresistible.

Clearly coming to the same conclusion, Weiss takes Ruby by the hand and leads her backstage, pausing only briefly to glance up at the rigging.

"What are you looking at?" Ruby asks, though she already knows the answer.

"Nothing." Weiss shakes her head, slaps on a smile, and tugs Ruby down a dimly lit passage toward the dressing rooms.

She flings open the last door and steps into a tiny room filled with one of the piles of discarded costumes, all lazily dumped on the floor. The only light is one singular bulb around the dressing room mirror, the others either missing, burnt out, or broken.

"We can do as much or as little as you'd like," Weiss says, pulling the tie out of her hair and lowering herself onto the pile of costumes. "I'm happy just to be alone with you." She leans on her elbow, propping her head up on the heel of her palm, arching her eyebrow expectantly.

Grinning, and wanting distinctly more than just to be alone with Weiss, Ruby shakes her own hair out, sheds her ugly Atlas Academy cardigan - and the shirt beneath it - and then her bra, and steps forward.

"You look cold," Weiss observes, her smile widening at the sight of Ruby's bare skin. "Come here, I'll warm you."

As soon as Ruby is on her back, Weiss begins trailing her fingertips over the girl's skin, around her breasts, down to her stomach, and back up again, letting her fingernails drag, leaving goosebumps in their wake.

"You're so beautiful." Weiss takes her time admiring Ruby's body. "So perfect."

Minutes pass.

When she finally has her fill of simply ogling, Weiss maneuvers on top of her lover, sharing her body heat, careful not to put too much pressure on Ruby's ribs. In this position, she reaches down between them and snakes a hand up Ruby's skirt, finding that she is as wet as she had earlier claimed.

Kissing Ruby softly, Weiss traces her fingers along the girl's mound through her panties, teasing her with faint caresses. "There's something I haven't done for you yet," she whispers, flicking her tongue against Ruby's ear before pinching the lobe between her teeth.

Putting her mouth to good use, she begins trailing kisses down Ruby's body, working her way down her breasts to her stomach, and then…

Her phone rings.

Weiss bites off a curse, blowing her hair up out of her face and rising from Ruby's crotch, checking her scroll. "It's Professor Ansel." She moves up Ruby's body and straddles her hips. "I have to answer it." She puts a finger to Ruby's lips, preventing any possible protest and ensuring silence as she takes the call.

"What?" Weiss answers, annoyed. She listens. "Still? Damn it," she mutters. "Okay, I'll deal with it." Then she hands up without waiting for a reply.

"Ciel?" Ruby hazards a guess.

Weiss nods. "She didn't go back to the dorm."

"Of course not, the fucking cunt," Ruby grumbles. She would have felt bad for her language, but... well... seriously, fuck that cunt. She was horny as hell and her sexy times ended early because of that bitch. "Well, shit. What do you have to do?"

"Find her." Weiss scrambles up off the pile of costumes. "I am her teacher, after all." She straightens her clothes. "For the moment, anyway.

For the moment? Ruby would have questioned her on the off-hand comment, but Weiss barely pauses to draw breath before she dives into another thought.

"Don't worry." She scoops Ruby's clothes up off the floor, helping to dress her. "We're about to have almost a full weekend together." She buttons up Ruby's shirt with nimble fingers. "The other girls are leaving on an overnight trip."

"Not me?" Ruby blinks, taking in this new information.

"Nope." Weiss pulls the cardigan around Ruby's shoulders. "I'm afraid you joined a bit too late in the term." She tugs Ruby forward for a kiss. "So you'll have to suffer staying in the dorm with me the entire-" Another kiss. "-Weekend."

As it turns out, they did not need to have cut their intimacy short. By the time they make it back to the Schnee Dorm - where Weiss had intended to gather the girls to inquire about Ciel's whereabouts - the girl is already there, as are all the others. Ansel approaches, in the midst of apologizing for needlessly drawing Weiss away from her work in the performance hall when Ciel snorts derisively.

"Work? Weiss sent all the others back the same time as me." She sneers at Ruby. "She was there alone with Ruby Rose."

Looks are exchanged among the students. Professor Ansel shifts uncomfortably, as if unsure whether to look outraged or pitying, and Weiss tilts her chin up, refusing to wilt.

"I want everyone up in their beds at once," she says quietly, clearly expecting compliance.

"But it's only nine-thirty!" one of the girls dares to remark.

"Now! Go," Weiss snaps. "This instant."

"Come on, girls," Professor Ansel rallies them all, herding them towards the stairs.

Ciel is the last one to move, attempting to shove herself between Weiss and Ruby on her way out of the room.

"Not you." Weiss grabs Ciel by the arm. "Collect your overnight things and check yourself into the singular rooms on campus. After that stunt you pulled in the performance hall, and your poor attitude, you aren't welcome in this dorm tonight."

Ciel rips herself free from Weiss' grip. "Fine!" She stops up the stairs towards the cubicles.

Ruby hangs back, but is wary of getting in Weiss' way.

"Where are you sending her?"

"We have isolated rooms in the main school building," Weiss explains, her arms folded and her expression grim. "A student may be excluded from her dorm for up to seventy-two hours as punishment for poor and antisocial behavior.

"What about the school trip? Will she be able to go? Or will she be staying here?" The question is silent, but obvious; will she be here with us?

Weiss shake sher head, rubbing at her temples with her fingertips. "It would be within my rights, but no. I just don't want her here."

She sighs heavily, sadly. "In the morning, Ciel will be rousted by the teacher on duty. The bus driver will pick her up from the main building, along with anyone else in the isolated rooms, if there are any." She nudges Ruby with her shoulder. "Now you get upstairs with the others. Go on."

Disinclined to end the night on such a miserable note, Ruby lingers. Risking a scolding, she places a hand on the small of Weiss' back, rubbing gently, and presses a chaste peck on her cheek. She chances more - making a bid for lips - but Weiss turns away, indicating 'no' with little more than a shake of her head.

Ciel stomps back down the staircase a few moments later, her arms laden with night clothes and toiletries. In the doorway, she stops, looking over her shoulder at Weiss.

"Fuck you, you slut! I hope you enjoy fucking each other!" Her shout is loud enough for the entire dorm to hear, and then she slams the door on her way out.

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**End of Chapter 13**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Oh no she didn't!
> 
> *ahem* Sorry...
> 
> We're on the home stretch now. Just a few chapters left.
> 
> BTW -- would anybody be interested in a Ruby x Katt spin off? I mainly do WR, but I've kinda grown partial to that pairing in the course of All's Fair. Just wanna get a feel for the number of people who would wanna see what kinda hijinks the two of them would get up to.
> 
> Cheers.
> 
> ***Will work for glomps***


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: We own nothing. This is for entertainment purposes only.
> 
> A/N: We here we have a rapid update full of tasty Whiterose.
> 
> Enjoy.

 

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**All's Fair in Love and… Well… Love**

_Chapter 14_

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Ruby sets her own alarm and wakes up half an hour before Weiss is due for her morning rise-and-shines. Having slept in her clothes to save time, she rolls out of bed, wrangles her hair, and makes a quick stop in the bathroom to brush her teeth before going on a hunt for her girlfriend.

Her girlfriend.

Ruby has a girlfriend.

_Eeeeeeee~_

She expects to find the usually predictable girl in her study, gathering up her things for the day ahead. But she appears to have broken with routine this morning. She is not anywhere to be found, but the kitchen smells like freshly brewed coffee, betraying her recent presence there. Ruby cannot hear any movement, but the faint stench of cigarette smoke is drifting through an open window.

Following her nose, Ruby steps quietly into the laundry room and sneaks up to the back door, flinging it open with a playful "Boo!"

Weiss, sitting on the back step, leaning against the door, nearly falls backwards onto Ruby's legs. After emitting a muted shriek, she rights herself and makes a weak effort to hide the cigarette she is holding, simultaneously brushing a pack of cigarettes and a lighter off the top steps and onto the the one below, knocking them into an empty coffee mug that she is clearly using as an ashtray, moving them out of sight. Only then does she look up and see that it is Ruby.

"Fuck me!" She relaxes, fishing the cigarettes and lighter out of the mug. "I was afraid you were Professor Ansel," she mumbles, pinching the cigarette between her lips and taking a drag.

Ruby takes pause to enjoy this moment. For once in her life, she is not the one hurriedly trying to extinguish a cigarette and dispose of the evidence.

"Are you alright?" She closes the door and sits next to Weiss on the step, feeling the chill of the concrete going straight through to her bones. "I didn't know you smoked."

"I don't." Weiss blows a lungful of smoke into the crisp morning air.

"Yeah, and neither do I." Ruby snatches the cigarette from her, finding the ring of pink lipstick around the filter oddly sexy, the sensation only amplified - becoming borderline erotic - when she puts her own lips to the cigarette and sucks.

Reaching between them to tip the ash into the makeshift ashtray Weiss had so pointlessly tried to conceal, Ruby notices the cigarette packet and lighter, recognizing them immediately.

"Wait a minute, are these the ones you confiscated from Katt?" she laughs.

Weiss does not bother to deny it. "You'd be surprised how much contraband gets taken by the faculty." She takes her cigarette back. "Students always think we're... they're... so hard done by, but the rules apply to the teachers and staff as much as the students themselves: no alcohol or cigarettes on school premises, no public displays of affection, the conservative dress code."

Ruby flashes a crooked grin.

"Okay, I take some liberties with some of them," Weiss admits, tugging on the hem of her thigh-length skirt. "Professor Wilkins doesn't approve, but… well, she never approved of me anyway. Winter was always her favorite. The Golden Schnee."

Ruby chuckles. "The same Winter that stashed a bottle of wine in her desk?"

"The very same," Weiss replied dryly. "She took liberties in secret, too. Or, since she gets along with Wilkins just as much as I do… she just didn't give a fuck."

"Ooh, I love it when you talk dirty," Ruby cooes, sliding her hand over Weiss' thigh, scrunching up the girl's skirt until the very top of her stocking is bared. "Tell me more about how much you and Winter don't like the Headmistress."

"Mmm." Weiss leans back, resting her head against the door, her eyes closed. "If only we had time. I have to be upstairs in-" She checks her watch. "-ten minutes."

Despite her words, she allows Ruby to wriggle a hand all the way up her legs, accepting the cigarette as it's passed back to her.

"I'm such a horrible teacher."

"No, you're not." Ruby presses her middle finger directly into the center of Weiss' crevice, over her underwear, teasing her.

"Says the student who's sharing a cigarette with me, and stroking my obscenely wet pussy behind the dormroom." Weiss chuckles. "Yes, you are correct: I'm the very picture of propriety and discipline."

Ruby repositions herself to get a better angle for further groping, but Weiss staves her off, thwarting her attempts at penetration.

"Not now." She finishes the cigarette, crushing it into the mug. "We'll have almost the whole day together, so there's no need to rush." She fishes Ruby's hand out from between her legs. "There'll be plenty of time for more."

"I don't have classes?"

"Not the normal ones. You can use this day to catch up on any coursework while I teach my usual classes."

Ruby pouts. "Bummer."

"Now, none of that." Weiss gets up from the step and pats herself down, secreting the contraband in her jacket pocket. "Unfortunately for us both, no matter what else you are, you are still my student, and one of many. I've already made too many mistakes, and I have other obligations I need to see to."

She clutches the mug in her hand and reaches for the door handle, but Ruby leaps up off the concrete and stops her.

"Can't I at least get a good-bye kiss?" she pleads with the biggest puppy-dog eyes she can muster - compliments of pre-finishing school Zwei.

Unable to resist such a polite request for a kiss, Weiss gives her one: a loving caress of tongues, meshing toothpaste, coffee, and cigarettes.

"Now, go and finish your homework," she says when they break apart, and they slip silently back into the dorm.

"Have you thought about what you're going to do with Ciel?" Ruby asks, starting to work on her breakfast while Weiss washes out the mug.

"Believe me, I've thought of nothing else." The older girl sighs, sticking the mug into the dishwasher. "I've been too careless."

"Well, I'm not worried about her." Ruby slides two pieces of toast into the toaster. "She's a bully, that's all. She won't get to me."

"You might not be worried about her, but  _I_ am. I have to be." Weiss stands behind Ruby, rubbing her shoulders. "You're my responsibility -  _all_  of you. Even Ciel. I can't disregard her feelings just because I've fallen-" She stops herself, the movement of her hand ceasing as abruptly as her words.

Ruby moves the conversation alone, letter Weiss off the hook, freeing her from the confession that she is obviously still not ready to make. "Well, you wanna know something? I don't think she deserves your consideration."

"I did this to her. If she's a vindictive little shit, it's because of me." Weiss consults her watch again. "I have to go."

Ruby doesn't try to hold her back. Her toast pops, and she slathers it with jam, taking a seat at one of the smaller tables, glad that she was able to get to the last loaf of white bread before some of the other students could finish it off, leaving her with…

_Gulp._

The dreaded heels.

She is already halfway through her second slide by the time the first of the girls rush into the kitchen to grab a quick bite before the bus arrives to take them away - Katt among them.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" she snickers, snatching the last of Ruby's toast off her pate. "All alone with Weiss. You know, all night."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Ruby gives up the rest of her breakfast to her friend. "I'm going to be stuck doing homework all day by the sounds of it. Lucky me."

"Yeah - lucky you." From the twinkle in Katt's eye and the toothy grin, suffice to say both girl's knew exactly what was really going to go down.

0 - 0 - 0

After leaving Ruby to her friend, Weiss walks into her study on stiff legs, already prepared for the lecture she would undoubtedly receive from her teacher-turned-colleague.

Unsurprisingly, Professor Ansel is there waiting for her.

"We can trade places if you like," the older woman offers gently. "You can go with the kids as a… chaperone, and I'll stay here with whatsherface." Her tone is soft, but her words have a hint of warning in them.

Weiss moves to her desk and sits, quickly sifting through paperwork to fill out the necessary documents before the girls leave on their trip. She waits a few moments before looking up at Ansel. "Why ever would I want you to do that?"

They two lock eyes.

Ansel backs down first. "Fine, I give up." She flails her hands in the air. "Look; I've known you since you first came her as a fourteen year old girl. I practically raised you since then. I only want to help you. But you're an adult now, even if you don't act like it sometimes."

She pauses at the jibe, waiting to see if Weiss will respond. She doesn't.

Ansel sighs, "All I will say is this: if you haven't done it already, don't." She thumps her finger on the desk. "Don't make a mistake you can't undo."

For a moment it seems as though Ansel wants to say something more, but it passes. She shakes her head in resignationed and walks off, seeing to the boarding of the bus in a firm and orderly manner. Minutes pass and the dorm falls silent, and when Weiss is sure all the students have left, Ruby peeks her head into Weiss' study.

"I won't be a nuisance today, I promise."

"Nuisance, no." Weiss sets her pen down. "Distraction? Most certainly."

"When will you be done teaching your regular classes?'

"I have three consecutive lessons today, so I'll be back at the dorm by two thirty."

"Okay." Ruby's face scrunches in concentration. "And what will my reward be if I finish all my homework by then?"

Contemplating all the fun they could have with one another, Weiss' mouth curls up into the most delicious of smiles. She stands, and whispers:

"Will I tell my secret? No indeed, not I. Perhaps someday, who knows?" She stalks forward slowly, watching as Ruby's eyes widen and her eyebrows climb into her bangs, "But not today; it froze, and blows, and snows, and you're too curious. Fie! You want to hear it? Well, only, my secret's mine, and I won't tell."

She stops inches away, leaning forward to brush her lips against Ruby's in the barest of kisses. She feels Ruby suck in a shuddering breath as she murmurs.

"Is, um, is that you saying 'it's a secret?'"

Weiss giggles, turning on her heel and marching back to her desk. "Full marks, Miss Rose."

0 - 0 - 0

The sounds of Ruby's orgasm can be heard up and down the Schnee Dorm, her release coming swiftly and powerfully. When it finally ebbs, Weiss lifts her head from beneath the covers, her silvery hair tousled and unkempt, Ruby's fingers still tangled in her tresses.

"Was that worth the wait?" She brings her mouth to Ruby's bare breast, kissing her lover all over before rolling off her and onto the other side of the bed. "It feels like it's been forever since I've been with someone else." She licks her lips, savoring the taste of Ruby on her face. "Or maybe it's because it's you."

Ruby pants, relishing the last few contractions of her climax, writhing under the soft blankets, before bursting into giggles. "I can't believe I'm  _in_ your bed."

Weiss rolls her eyes. "Would you prefer  _under_  it?"

Ruby snorts and looks around, taking in the details for the first time. Weiss' outfit for the next day is hanging on the dresser door, half a dozen silk scarves are draped over the bedroom mirror, a dresser is topped with makeup and nail polish, and a collection of shoes - ranging from sensible brown loafers to three-inch heels - are lined up against a wall.

There are a few pictures here and there: Weiss with an older couple who must be her parents, Weiss with a girl who looks startlingly like her, but clearly a handful of years older -  _Winter,_ she hazards - Weiss with friends, and one picture of Weiss with Pyrrha. The latter is in a heart-shaped frame on the bedside table.

Ruby doesn't get a chance to fixate on the picture for long. Weiss flings back the covers, casting her eyes over her naked body and exposing her own nakedness at the same time.

She runs a smooth hand from Ruby's shoulders over her breasts, her waist, her stomach, and the mound of her sex.

"You're so soft," she murmurs, dragging her fingers through Ruby's stubble, toying with the small piercing below. "Does the piercing do anything for you? I don't recall feeling it before." she wonders idly, examining the crimson jewel.

Ruby looks down at herself, the jewelry shimming with her own fluids and Weiss' saliva. "It rubs against my clit when I'm turned on and all swollen. I got it a year ago; my sister took me and we both got one."

Weiss arched an eyebrow, flicking her tongue out to nudge the piercing. "Oh? Your sister, huh? Should I be jealous?"

"W-what?" Ruby giggles, slapping Weiss' hand away. "Careful, it's sensitive! No way, she's just cool like that. She's always been really supportive of me. Especially after my mom died."

Unwilling to be the cause for a sudden break in the mood, Ruby growls and rolls Weiss only her back, attacking her with kisses.

"So energetic!" Weiss grabs Ruby's shoulders and pushes her gently, forcing the younger girl to break for air.

"I have to be energetic." Ruby leans on a pillow, stroking Weiss' face. "I never know when we're going to get time together, and I don't want to waste it."

Weiss cups Ruby's cheek, pulling her in for another kiss. "I wish this was easier."

"It's okay." Ruby snuggles up next to her. "I know how it has to be."

Weiss cocks her head. "Have you done this before?" A curious smile starts to work its way to her lips. "Tell me the truth. I'm not your first teacher, am I?"

"Well, you're my first  _music_  teacher."

Weiss laughs loudly. "I should have known! You had no issues with pursuing me. Of course you have a thing for teachers!"

Ruby grins, and then clears her throat, her smile dying a little. "Actually, it was the teacher's daughter - the Headmaster's."

Weiss rolls onto her side, pressing more tightly against Ruby. "Does this have anything to do with why you transfered school so suddenly?"

"Maybe."

"What happened?" Weiss prods her. "Please tell me nobody got hurt."

"Nobody got hurt. Physically, anyway." Ruby sighs. "My dad got all pissy; mainly because he and the Headmaster go way back. I don't know why… I mean, my uncle is also really tight with him and Uncle Qrow thought it was funny as hell so…" She shrugs sullenly. "It was like a shame scandal that the school couldn't have. ' _The Headmaster's daughter in a lesbian relationship! Story of the century!'_. So in the end, it was agreed that the entire thing gets swept under the rug, I get booted out of school and, well, yeah. You know the rest."

"That's Professor Wilkins' attitude to a tee." Weiss swings her leg over Ruby's hip, their arms and legs intertwining together. "So what was the fate of my predecessor? What kind of a girl was she?"

"Really short. But cute. A real whiz at math and science. We kinda didn't have much in common except for music. I toyed around with the piano and she played violin. I hadn't played for a while though."

"Do you still talk to her?"

Ruby shrugs. "We send each other messages every now and again. But it's pretty much over between us."

"I believe you," Weiss chuckles. "You don't seem the type to date two at once." She pauses for a moment. "Did you love her?"

"Yes," Ruby answers honestly.

"Was she your first?"

"Uh-huh. We took each other's virginity when we were fifteen."

"Ooh," Weiss coos. "How dreadfully naughty of the two of you."

Ruby snickers, "Oh, yeah. We were so naughty doing it in the storage room behind the gym. Just a couple of fifteen year olds doing the dirty. Nothing to see here."

"At least you were  _both_  underage," Weiss points out dryly. "Easier to deal with than what you and I have."

"That's such a stupid law. What if you were, like, a day over eighteen and I was a day under? It would be illegal for two days? Fuck that. I'll be eighteen in October, when we won't have to worry."

"Oh yes, we'd only have to worry about our families," Weiss laughs.

"Your parents, probably." Ruby shrugs. "My dad will suck it up. With my sister and uncle backing me up, he'll fold like a house of cards."

Weiss 'hums' softly, laying her head to rest on Ruby's shoulder. "So tell me more about your ex-girlfriend. Just how cute was she?"

"Ain't got nothing on you."

Weiss giggles, twirling a lock of Ruby's hair around her finger. "I suppose you have to say that, since your naked in my bed."

"I'm not lying!" Ruby wriggles to the edge of the bed, leans over, and fishes her scroll from the pocket of her abandoned Atlas Academy cardigan. "See?" She brings up a picture, showing the screen to Weiss.

"Let me see." Weiss takes the scroll from her, scrutinizing what Ruby knows is a provocative lingerie shot of an attractive, dark-haired girl before tapping the screen and handing the device back.

"What did you just do?" Ruby tries to find the picture again. "Did-did you just delete it?" She flips all the way through her stored pictures. "You did!" She glares at Weiss. "Now you'll have to replace it."

She is only halfway serious, but Weiss' answer surprises her.

"Nothing above the shoulders, or below the waist."

Ruby's jaw drops. "I… wait… wait? Seriously? You'll let me take a nudie picture of you?"

Weiss shrugs. "Why not? I'm not a prude."

Leaping on the offer in case it expires, Ruby swings her leg over Weiss, straddling her, grinding crotch against crotch. In this position, she takes a picture of Weiss' bare breasts, her rosy nipples standing at attention.

While she is saving the picture as her scrolls' wallpaper, completely naked, sitting astride her equally naked girlfriend and teacher, an amusing thought occurs to her.

"You know, my dad decided to send me here because he thought I needed more discipline."

"Hah!" Weiss barks out a laugh. "That worked well, didn't it?" Weiss reaches up and palms Ruby's breast. "Was he really angry when he found out about your relationship with a girl?"

"Kind of, but not so much that she was the daughter of the Headmaster. I mean, my sister is bi, so… that kinda thing doesn't  _really_ get to him. He just thought that I 'needed perspective'."

"Some perspective." Weiss snorts.

"Well, my perspective is pretty good from here." Ruby grins widely, grinding her crotch against Weiss slowly. "Wanna go again? I'm ready."

"Ready for what?" Weiss matches Ruby's grin with one of hers.

"Ready for me to fuck you again."

Ruby tries to coax Weiss' hand between her legs, but Weiss rebuffs her.

"Can you say that again? With more  _feeling?_ "

Ruby huffs, but thinks for a moment. After a few seconds of silence, she comes up with: "All day, All night, I dream. Of white, and new, and old. Like a spark, like a cinder, like a seam. From sun to moon; All Day, All night, I dream."

Weiss blinks slowly. "Was… was that in my sister's book?"

"No," Ruby murmurs, leaning forward to press her lips to Weiss'. "That one was mine. Now make love to me, Weiss."

"That's much better." Weiss rewards her with two fingers, flipping her over onto her back, eliciting a squeal and a groan when she slips her fingers deep inside Ruby's center.

"Ohhhh, yes," Ruby grunts, her chest heaving as she arches her back. "Yes, fuck me!"

"Once again," Weiss says. "With feeling."

"Weiss!" Ruby whines, gripping the bedsheets with her fists. "M-more!"

Weiss pauses. "You really want more?" She slides her fingers inside Ruby with long, languid strokes. She adds a third and Ruby mewls. "How much more?"

"I want everything." Ruby spreads her legs wider and brings her knees up, her eyes blazing with lust and affection. "I want you."

It takes Weiss a moment for Weiss to pull strapless dildo from inside her bedside table, and Ruby's eyes widen as she licks her lips.

"Oh,  _fuck_  yes."

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**End of Chapter 14**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: For those of you who are interested, the author of Weiss' poem about secrets is Christina Rossetti, and called, Winter: My Secret. Ruby's poem at the end of the chapter is all mine.
> 
> We have two chapters left, which will be posted at the same time next week due to a cliffhanger, and we'd hate to leave that on your plates. The epilogue will follow a week or so after.
> 
> Nearly there!
> 
> Co-A/N: Jman3100 here, to the guest on chapter 8 that mentioned the proofreading or lack thereof: I am very sorry for that. I was extremely tired at that time and was working on other things at the same time, therefore, I didn't have the time really to proofread properly. This chapter should be a lot better.
> 
> Cheers.
> 
> ***Will work for glomps***


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: We own nothing. This is for entertainment purposes only.
> 
> A/N: And here we have the finale of All's Fair in Love and... Well... Love! We're doing a dual-post of the final two chapters (not including the epilogue, which will be posted sometime next week), to streamline the ending a bit.
> 
> Enjoy.

 

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**All's Fair in Love and… Well… Love**

_Chapter 15_

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For Ruby, morning brings the smell of fresh coffee and Weiss' perfume. There's no screeching alarm, and no cubicle wall to accidentally bang her head on when she rolls over. The sheets are soft, the pillow cool against her cheek, and she can feel the warmth of another body behind her.

Weiss.

Suddenly remembering where she is, she rolls onto her back, still sated from last night's seemingly endless passions. Her core throbs from repeated rounds of fucking -  _lovemaking_ \- and her chest aches from the strain of topping Weiss's attempts to use her strapless dildo for the first time.

The recurring times fared much better.

As she had feared, the first attempt resulted in three thrusts and a bout of giggles when the toy slipped out of her. She was definitely tight enough, and well in control of her pelvic muscles, but she was also so wet that it had been difficult to keep a grip on the end of the dildo that was lodged inside her.

"Again," Weiss encouraged her to try again, helping to reinsert the dilco, but the second effort did not end with much more success that the first.

After the third slip-up, and Ruby's escalating frustration, they'd switched places. With a comforting kiss, Ruby climbed on top of Weiss and rode her hard, breathlessly shushing her apologies and reassuring her that it would get easier with practice.

Now, after only a few hours of sleep, Ruby is ready to go for attempt number four. She flops onto her side, expecting to find a naked, white-haired goddess lying next to her, but to her immense disappointment, Weiss is already dressed. She is sitting on top of the blankets, her legs outstretched, her back against the headboard, a computer open on her thighs.

"Good morning, dear." The girl dips her head to smile at Ruby.

"What time is it?" Ruby looks around for a clock, wondering if she overslept.

"Early." Weiss sips from a mug of coffee, returning her gaze to the screen. "You can sleep a little longer, but I have to go in for a meeting, then I have two classes until lunch."

"I thought there wasn't any classes on the weekend," Ruby yawns.

"Make-up classes. I was slotted this weekend because my dorm is emptied."

"Ah." Ruby grumbles, finally hearing the other part of Weiss' schedule. "You have another meeting?"

"With Professor Wilkins." Weiss nurses her coffee thoughtfully. "She probably wants to see me about the concert at the end of the week. I can't think why else she would want to see me." She looks down at her naked girlfriend, smirking and poking at a bare breast with a manicured fingertip. "We won't be able to do this very often, you know. Spend the whole night together."

"I've been thinking about that." Ruby shuffles up into a sitting position. "I can get permission to leave school premises on the weekends, right? I read about it in the student handbook. The book says older girls can get permission to go into town and see a movie, or have dinner, or… stay somewhere overnight."

Weiss sets her mug aside, placing it on the bedside table. The heart-shaped picture of her and Pyrrha is nowhere to be seen. "Are you suggesting that you use your off-campus privileges to have sex with me in the hotel down the road?"

"Um..." Well, when she put it like  _that_. "It-It's the best thing, right? During the week, we'll have to suffer as we have been: nothing more than the occasional grope here and there. But on weekends, we can have time to ourselves."

"You'll have to get permission," Weiss warns. "Off-campus privileges are just that; a privilege, not a right."

Ruby shrugs. "So who do I have to get permission from?"

"Your dorm leader."

With laughter, Ruby nestles against Weiss. "Job done, then." She looks down at the computer. "Are you online? Let's book a room for the weekend." She takes over the scrolling and click on the internet browser, bringing up whatever Weiss was looking at before Ruby woke up. It only took a moment for Ruby to realize that they were all job listings.

Specifically, teaching positions. Musical teaching positions.

Ruby stares at the screen, her heart dropping down to her stomach. "You're… leaving?" Her voice is soft, quiet.

"I have to start thinking ahead, don't I?" Weiss strokes Ruby's hair. "I'm not looking to be away from you, but to be  _with_  you. As long as we both remain at this school, what we're doing is… wrong." She forces Ruby to look at her. "You know it, and I know it. I'm treating the other girls poorly, and there is obvious favoritism that I can't seem to stop. Please don't be angry." She teases a kiss from Ruby's slightly trembling lips.

"We can make this work," Ruby pleads. "It's only for a short time, anyway. I'll be eighteen soon, and-"

"No, Ruby," Weiss shuts her down." I can't keep teaching here; I can't keep teaching  _you_. I don't want it to be like this. Always hiding from the other students. Always hiding from Professor Wilkins. It was hard enough with Pyrrha, and it didn't end well."

"You never thought about leaving when you were with her?"

Weiss shakes her head. "She died before I graduated. And even if she hadn't; I wasn't her teacher. But still, staying here was a mistake. I hid my feelings for her, but I won't hide them for you." She shuts down the computer and pushes it to the foot of her bed, turning to face Ruby. "I'm not going to make the same mistake twice." She lays her head on Ruby's shoulder, pulling the girl in a gently embrace. "I denied everything and it… destroyed her." She pushes her face into Ruby's hair, kissing the side of her head. "I can't… I  _won't_  do that again. Not to you."

She holds Ruby in her arms until she finally couldn't take it anymore. "You're… gonna collapse my lung," Ruby wheezes.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Weiss pulls back. "I didn't mean to hurt you." She cups Ruby's face. "You're too important to me to risk. You understand?"

Ruby nods, believing every word of the whole "I never want to hurt you," spiel, knowing well that Weiss would not consider such a drastic change in her life unless she truly felt it was best.

"What am I going to be doing today?" she asks, changing the subject from the mauldin.

"Professor Wilkins wants the remaining members of the Schnee Dorm - _you,_ in other words- to do some quiet studying in the library. I told her that she could expect you there at ten o'clock sharp, after you've finished your chores for the day."

Ruby scrunches up her face. "Chores? Ugh."

"Don't worry. If she asks, tell her I had you darning loose skirt hems or something." Weiss lays a kiss on her before getting up from the bed. "I thought you might like to have a relaxing morning, since you didn't sleep much last night."

"Thanks." Ruby flops back under the covers lazily.

"I'll meet you in the library at lunchtime." Weiss slips on her shoes. "Maybe I'll let you give me a little biology exam in the anatomy aisle."

_Wink wink._

0 - 0 - 0

Grabbing one of her scarves off the mirror and wraps it twice around her neck, hiding the bruises left by Ruby on her milky skin, some of them so dark they would take days to heal, Weiss bids her girlfriend a farewell and left the room.

Moving through the empty dorm, she reaches up and rubs at her shoulder. Ruby's nipping and biting had been relentless, as if she were trying to devour Weiss from head to toe, claiming every inch of flesh as her own. Over the course of the night, Weiss' neck, shoulders, belly, and ass all became closely acquainted with Ruby's teeth, but she had carefully avoided any and all tender areas where it may have hurt, or left a visible mark.

Weiss had been starved for sex, she realized abscently. From the minute she and Ruby had tumbled into bed together, she was ravenous for sexual contact and more than eager to please. And Ruby had listened to Weiss' cues and adjusted herself accordingly, never once needing to be redirected or cautioned.

Indeed, the oral sex had been far beyond anything Weiss had ever imagined. The first time Ruby went down on her, she had been delicate and tender, licking her and probing her with the utmost care, peppering her sensitive pink flesh with kisses. This time, however, she had buried her face between Weiss' legs, attacking her with tongue and fingers, making her clit swell and her entire body close to combust.

Weiss had screamed -  _actually screamed!_ \- over and over again, sometimes sandwiched between coarse expletives. She had even reverted to traditional Atlesian at one point, her mind muddy and her tongue moving on its own as she called aloud.

Sex with Pyrrha had not been anything like this. She never worked her so hard, so perfectly, deliberately holding her on the cusp of an orgasm for so long it felt like every muscle in her body was on fire, causing her to shake uncontrollably for a good ten minutes before Ruby finally pushed her over the edge.

And when it finally came, the climax Ruby had given her was the strongest she had ever felt. She gushed all over the bed, drenching the girl's face, her entire body shuddering as she howled as loudly as she could.

That was round one. Of many.

After lapping her up and giving Weiss a brief respite, Ruby tongued her again, bringing her to another peak so swiftly that Weiss almost got whiplash.

Then Weiss took over.

Unable to go even one more second without tasting the beautiful girl lying beside her, she spread Ruby's legs and dived in between, groaning with delight at the unbelievable sweetness that greeted her. Ruby was dripping with arousal, the valley between her labia so flushed and set, her opening slick enough to allow three - and eventually four - fingers to slide inside her, but still so tight that Weiss' slender digits were wedged there, barely able to move.

Wiping the cat-got-the-cream smile off her face before entering the main school building, Weiss checks her appearance in the 'Are you presentable?' mirror, making sure that none of  _Ruby_  showed on her face before heading to Professor Wilkins' office. Along the way, she passes three of her peers.

While she smiles and greet them in passing, they flash her wary, uncertain looks, their conversations dropping to low whispers. Their reactions are so abnormal that, by the time she knocks on the door to the Headmistress's office, she has the distinct impression that she is about to be punished for something very, very bad.

"Please, Weiss, have a seat," Wilkins offers - her tone brooking no opportunity for begging off the offer - from behind her sturdy oak desk, not a single wisp of her tightly-bunned gray hair out of place. "Have you seen the school emails this morning?"

Weiss has never known the woman to be quite this abrupt. Usually a fan of pointless small talk, she often has to be prompted to get to the point. But, clearly, today is a break from tradition.

In answer to the question, Weiss shakes her head. "I normally do that in my office before my first class. Why?"

Wilkins' eyes are flinty. Unblinking. "It seems that an email intended for you was accidentally sent out to the entire faculty." She slides a sheet of paper across the desk. "Damn that pesky 'send all' button being so close to the 'send'.

Having no clue what she could have done to warrant such hostility, Weiss begins to read the email. As the reads, her annoyance soon faces to shock.

Apparently from Ruby, the email peppers proclamations of love with increasingly graphic details of their few-and-far-between sexual encounters. Their midnight fuck in the dorm room with Ruby's dildo, their brief but tender lovemaking in Weiss' private room the last weekend, and everything in between.

Weiss' chest tightens as she reaches the end of the email, her hands shaking. Could Ruby have been this stupid? Could she really be this careless? Why would she even do this? Surely, if she would even bother, she would make the effort to write something more intimate… maybe a poem here or there, and then write it on a piece of notebook paper and stick it in a bowl of candy, or something. She would never… ever…

The timestamp on the email settles it: it was sent at eleven o'clock the previous night. At that time, Weiss was three fingers deep inside Ruby, still riding high after her second orgasm.

"What is this?" Weiss tosses the paper back onto Wilkins' desk. "Ruby Rose didn't write this."

"It was sent from her student account," the older woman counters evenly.

"I don't care." Weiss snaps, her jaw clenching. "Ruby  _did not_  send this."

"How can you be so sure of that?"

For a split second, Weiss considers telling a lie. Then, remembers all she said to Ruby in bed, and all the promises she made to the one person she was sure would never think badly of her.

No more denial.

No more weakness.

Fuck Atlas.

Fuck Professor Wilkins.

The fear in her gut ebbs away as Weiss relaxed into her chair, the tension in her body leaving her. "I know she didn't write this because she was with me when this email was sent to everyone."

Wilkins fails the grasp the significance of that statement. "She was with you after curfew?" The lines in her face deepen and her good eye fixes on her. The other is veering off to the left somewhere. "Why?"

Weiss blinks slowly. "Because we were in bed together," She says simply, locking eyes with the Headmistress. "Fucking."

It takes a moment, but Professor Wilkins' mouth finally snaps shut and her face turns a deep shade of purple.

"I'm sorry," Weiss volunteers scathingly. "Was that  _not_  the answer you wanted to hear?"

Wilkins works her jaw for a moment, and then grunts, crunching the printed email in her fist. "How could you do this again, Weiss? I've tolerated your-" She pauses, searching for the most inoffensive word she can think of. "Sexual liberation as far as I can because you are a promising teacher, and because your family is a longstanding benefactor of this institution, but-"

"Sexual liberation?" Weiss cuts her off. "Are you referring to my being a lesbian? Or my legal relationship with an eighteen year old woman that you deemed inappropriate because because it bothered your sensibilities?"

"This is scandalous!" Wilkins brings her fleshy hand down upon her desk. "Nikos may have been an adult, but the Rose child is  _not_!"

"Would it make any difference to you if she was?" Weiss hisses. "The woman I loved was killed because  _you_  couldn't bare the thought of two women making love in the school. You told then entire school that her feelings for me were a dangerous, childish infatuation. You insinuated that she was mentally ill and should seek psychiatric help!"

"That girl stood on top of a dining table in the cafeteria and swore her undying love for you!" Wilkins thunders. "That behavior is not normal, Weiss!"

"She was defending herself!" Weiss snaps back. "She was being bullied, as I mentioned to you some weeks before. Someone was sending her anonymous threats and taunts, calling her a whore and a slut, insinuatind that she was prosititung herself to me. I asked you and Professor Ansel to help get to the bottom of it, and you chose to ignore me." Weiss hesitates, fighting back tears. "She couldn't take it anymore. She told everyone she loved me, and you call her sick."

Weiss pauses to collect herself, determined to reach the end of her tirate without falling apart. "Do you know what the worst part of all this is?" She sniffs. "You did all this, and I let you. I kept my mouth shut, I denied loving her because you convinced me that silence was the best policy, and that I had a professional loyalty to the school and my family that came paramount to my feelings."

"It would have meant the end of your career," Wilkins says through gritted teeth.

"No," Weiss says simply. "Just the end of my career here."

The silence is deafening, and significant. It is a long minute before the Headmistress speaks again. "I did what had to be done."

"For whose benefit?" Weiss pulls a tissue out of a pocket and bads at her eyes. "Not Pyrrha's. Not mine. Only your own."

"For the benefit of the school," Wilkins barks indignantly.

"No. It was for  _your_  benefit," Weiss snarls. "For the reputation of the school, which you can't bear to see sullied by a public acknowledgement of a romantic entanglement between two women." Weiss squares her shoulders. "You disgust me."

"The feeling is mutual." Wilkins glowers at her. "I'll expect your resignation on my desk tomorrow."

"You'll have it this afternoon." Weiss says, her anger fueling her words. "Now, might I politely suggest that you put your prejudices aside and find the girl responsible for sending this email? You may very well prevent another tragedy from occuring on your campus by punishing the  _correct_  party accordingly, instead of brushing it under the carpet because the subject matter isn't to your taste."

Wilkins sneers, but swivels her leather chair and consults her computer. "It was sent from a terminal in your dorm."

"No, that's not possible." Weiss waves her hand. "Ruby is the only girl left."

"Not according to my register." Wilkins clicks buttons infuriatingly slowly.

Weiss' blood turns to ice. "What? Who is left?"

"One other girl." Wilkins turns the screen to face her. "Ciel Soleil."

Weiss shakes her head slowly, disbelieving. "No… she... she left on the bus with the others."

"The sign-in sheet says otherwise." Wilkins checks her phone. "It says she never boarded."

"So she never left isolation?"

"Isolation?" Wilkins frowns.

"I sent her to the isolated rooms the night before last." Weiss tightens her fist around the wadded up tissue, irritation bubbling up to the surface at the memory. "She was misbehaving and being antisocial."

"You  _sent_  her there?" Wilkins presses. "Or you  _took_ her there?"

Weiss feels her shoulder droop and her face fall, shame prickling at her ears. "I sent her there," she replies meekly.

"So if she wasn't in isolation, and she didn't go on the trip…" Wilkins leans on her desk, her face demanding answers. "Where was she last night? And where is she now?"

Weiss reaches the answer quickly, and her stomach churns. "She's in my dorm." And then, with the knowledge of who  _else_  is in the dorm presently, she reaches an even more horrifying conclusion.

"Ruby!"

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**End of Chapter 15**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Don'cha hate cliffhangers? Move along to chapter 16, in that case.
> 
> Cheers.
> 
> ***Will work for glomps***


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: We own nothing. This is for entertainment purposes only.
> 
> A/N: This gets a little dark. Just an obligatory warning.
> 
> Enjoy.

 

0 - 0 - 0

**All's Fair in Love and… Well… Love**

_Chapter 16_

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Barefoot, clad in her cotton nightshirt, Ruby sings to herself in the kitchen, making a quick piece of toast before going back to bet to laze in Weiss' sex-stained sheets for as long as possible before having to get up and head to the library.

She does not bother to use a plate, and trails crumbs from the kitchen to the staircase, munching down the last bite before she hits the first step. Her body still flooded with endorphins, she skips happily up the stairs, humming softly all the while. She makes for her cubicle to fetch her scroll and check her messages, but stops short of the door, cutting herself off in mid-song.

When she got out of bed to grab some food not ten minutes ago, she had left the door to Weiss' rooms open so that she wouldn't lock herself out, and now the unmistakable sound of running water is coming from within. She had not left the water running, so that meant that someone had started the water after she left.

"Weiss?" she calls out, stepping closer. "Are you back already?"

There is no response.

"Weiss?" She peeks her head inside and tiptoes to the bathroom, finding the tub already brimming, steam rising towards the ceiling. "Shit!" she curses and shuts off the taps. "Weiss, where are you?"

Sensing movement in the corner of her eye, she spins around to face Weiss, only do have her world cast into complete darkness. She barely registers the impact of something heavy against the side of her head, nor the slap of cold tiles against her body.

She doesn't know how much time passes while she is floating in darkness. It feels like barely a moment, but it could very well be minutes, but the sudden prick - like the feeling of a needle piercing her skin - pulls her back to Remnant. The feeling reminds her of an allergy test she once had. She was just a kid at the time, but she remembers the sensation of a dozen needles being jabbed into her inner forearm, just a few inches above her wrist.

_Her wrist._

She realizes the sharp, stinging pain is centered there, and it brings more of her lucidity back. She realizes that she is wet; very wet, all over. Her skin is damp and tingling from heat.

She is in the bathtub, she realizes.

Groggily opening her eyes, she tries to look around, but her vision is blurred; everything is unfocused. There is a dark figure looming over the tub, something glinting in the bright bathroom lights. Blinking several times to chase away the blurriness, squinting against the glare, more detail comes into the shadowing mass above her.

A bob of dark hair. An Atlas Academy Uniform. Tanned skin and steely eyes.

Ciel! And that thing in her hands, glinting in the light of the bathroom… a razorblade!

"What-what the fuck?!" Ruby yanks her hand back as Ciel plunges the blade down. It nicks her wrist and chips against the porcelain tub, and blood seeps from the cut down her arm into the water. The bathwater plumes a murky pink and Ruby's vision blurs again. The sight of blood always made her woozy.

Summoning every bit of strength she can, Ruby pushes her hips up and thrusts out with her legs, kicking Ciel away from the bathroom and sending her rolling across the bathroom. The razorblade skitters away into a corner of the room. Ciel falls on her backside, hissing as her tailbone hits the tile, and glares at Ruby.

"I was right about you!" Ruby seethes. "You're fucking insane!"

She tries to pull herself out of the bath, but the sting in her wrists - one had already been cut while she was out, apparently - make to so she cannot bear her own weight.

"All you had to do was keep your hands off Weiss." Ciel clambers to her knees, looking around for her weapon. "I tried warning you, but you wouldn't listen!"

Ruby anchors herself to the edge of the tub, holding her head above the water. Her wrists ache and sting, and she can't keep a firm hold on the slick porcelain; she slips and her head falls in the water. She gasps, forcing it back up.

"It won't work!" she curls her fingers around the lip of the tub, finding purchase through the water and blood. "You-you think you'll be able to swoop in and take advantage of Weiss like when Pyrrha died, but that won't happen! She doesn't want you. She'll never want you!"

Ciel curses, not finding the razorblade fast enough, and stands, approaching the tub. "That's funny. That's exactly what Pyrrha said... right before her neck broke."

Ruby clings to the slick surface, numb and woozy, her muddled brain scarcely able to make the connection. But when she does, she feels a dread she had not felt before. "You… you killed her! You killed Pyrrha!"

"I had to," Ciel contends coldly. She reaches out and, with surprisingly gentle hands, eases Ruby's fingers from the lip of the tub one by one, as it the action were little more than a mundane chore. "She wouldn't leave Weiss alone either. Even with my emails and 'anonymous' notes."

Ruby sinks back into the warm water, her eyes wide and her body growing cold despite the heat from the bath. Her head is still above water, but her arms float there, her blood turning the warm water a muddled crimson. "You… you…"

"Me," Ciel repeats, her voice soft; almost conversational. "She was a lot more difficult to pin down than you, though. The girl was a fighter, if anything. But even a gymnast hangs from the rafters with the best of them. You, though…" she hums quietly, tapping her lip with a bloodied finger. The action leaves a dark red stain on her lower lip. "I'm thinking something more…  _artistic_."

Ruby does not answer. The sting in her arms is turning to painful throbs and her limbs are tingling - growing more numb by the second.

"That's why I came up with this little number," Ciel continues. "After all, slashing your wrists in the bathtub leaves a mark almost as big as hanging yourself. If you're in Weiss' bathroom, she's sure to find you first, just like before. And since you two are turned on so much by  _poetry_ … I think using your blood to write a farewell message on the wall would be a pretty big slap in the face, won't it?"

She reaches down and smears her hand along the lip of the tub, coating her fingers in Ruby's blood. She peers at her fingers, rubbing the viscous fluid between her fingertips. "I'm thinking something like… ' _It's better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all'_. What do you think?"

Ruby swallows, choking a little as she sucks in the taste of bathwater and her own blood, but manages to mutter, "Your… your poetry sucks horse dick."

Ciel growls, leaning down to look Ruby square in the face. "I think I don't want to wait for you to bleed out. I'll just drown you and watch you die that way."

Ruby sucks in a breath as she feels Ciel's hand on her forehead - hot against her cooling skin - and is pushed under the water. She is unable to resist, her arms and legs moving weakly in the water, reaching ineffectually for help. She holds her breath for as long as she can, but her lungs soon give out and she opens her mouth, gasping for air that is not there. A few seconds of blind panic passes-

And then the pressure on her head lifts.

Her ears are under the water, but she can still hear muted sounds from above; dull thuds and screams.

And then nothing.

A moment later, Ruby feels something scrabbling at her chest. She is pulled from the water, and she tries to weakly draw breath. Water bubbles in her throat, and she gags harshly until a sharp slap connects with the middle of her back. She vomits water and bile and blood, her vision swimming. Her body is numb, but she feels the tickle of a small, gently hand cradling her neck. In one swift motion, her upper body is pulled over the side of the back, her head down, and and coughs out the rest of the water all over the floor.

"Ruby!" a familiar - and very welcome - voice calls out. She feels sharp slaps against her cheek, and it is enough to get her to focus on the flushed, panicked face of Weiss above her.

Ruby groans as Weiss helps her fully out of the tub and props her up on the floor. Weiss quickly wraps a large, fluffy towel around her body, and efficiently winds smaller, thinner towel around one of her bleeding wrists.

Blood is soaked into her nightshirt, and all over the floor, mixed with bathwater. There is so much blood, that Ruby can barely see anything else.

"Oh, Ruby!" Weiss tugs her scarf from her neck and wraps it around her other wrist, tying securely but not too tight. "The police are on their way. An ambulance, too." She pulls Ruby to her chest, lifting her wrists as high as she can while still keeping her hold tight.

"How-how did you know?" Ruby croaks, sinking into the warmth that was Weiss.

"Ciel sent an email from your student account to every teacher at Atlas, revealing intimate and explicit details of your…" she pauses, searching for the right word.

Affair? Fling? Indiscretions?

"... our relationship." Weiss finishes. She holds Ruby securely in her arms, kissing and squeezing her. "When I realized that she hadn't left on the trip with everyone else, I was afraid she might try to hurt you again."

"Oh… no," Ruby groans softly, trying to sound nonchalant but the pain in her throat and arms making it difficult. "Hurt me? Nah. I had her on the ropes the whole time."

Weiss makes a sound between a laugh and a sob. "Please, please don't make light of this. This is all my fault. I did this."

"She needs help," Ruby murmurs quietly. "She's a fucking nutcase."

"I know." Weiss sobs quietly into Ruby's hair. "I know."

"No, you don't." Ruby coughs painfully, still finding it difficult to draw breath, but just as determined to tell Weiss what she needs to hear. "Pyrrha didn't kill herself, Weiss. It was Ciel. She did it. She did it all."

"What?" Weiss gasps, her tears stemming and her concern for Ruby momentarily overridden by the pain of this old, but still-festering wound. "She-"

"She told me," Ruby whispers. "Ciel was jealous and wanted Pyrrha gone so she could have you. She… she was going to do the same to me." She paused, swallowing painfully and waiting for Weiss to respond. She does not. "Pyrrha's death wasn't your fault," Ruby asserts with conviction. "You didn't do anything wrong."

The words seem to have a physical effect on Weiss, and she shudders in a deep breath before sobbing openly against Ruby's shoulder. She rubs her face into the girl, crying and mumbling, "I love you, Ruby. I love you so much."

"Hah," Ruby can only mutter as her vision swims. "I know you do, Weiss."

Her feeling slowly fades away into nothingness, cradled in the warmth of Weiss' arms.

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**End of Chapter 16**

**To be Concluded**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Whoo! Well, all *that* happened. Pretty much confirmed what most of you had suspected. But, really, was anybody surprised?
> 
> And now we just have the epilogue, which will be out in 5-8 days. Not including holidays or weekends. Or sick leave. Or PTO. You know what? just assume it'll be out by the end of next week.
> 
> Cheers.
> 
> ***Will work for glomps***


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: We own nothing. This is for entertainment purposes only.
> 
> A/N: let's just get right to it, shall we?
> 
> Enjoy.

 

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**All's Fair in Love and… Well… Love**

_Epilogue_

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"Come ooooon, Ruby!" Katt's voice crackles loudly in her ear, and it's all Ruby can do to keep her scroll pressed up against her ear as she rolls her eyes at her friend's exuberance. "You gotta tell me the truth! We're besties, aren't we?"

"We totally are," Ruby agrees solemnly. She tries to keep her tone serious, but her smile is obvious even to Katt, who snickers mischievously.

"Then you  _gotta_ tell me! Everybody's asking! Did you and Weiss really elope to Menagerie together? Or did you steal a bus and travel across Atlas, stopping at every cheap, sleazy motel to bang each other? Oh! Oh! Or did you two get caught having stanky-ass sex on Professor Wilkins' desk? Is that why she looks so fucking pissed whenever you or Weiss is mentioned? Come ooooooooon!"

Ruby smiles wider as Katt rattles off the numerous - and quite frankly, hilarious - rumours that had been circulating after her and Weiss' sudden departure from Atlas Academy. She hadn't hear the one about having sex on Wilkins' desk yet; that was a good one. She kept in contact with a few of her fellow classmates since leaving Atlas - Katt and Penny, among a few others she had been friendly with- and all of them had been bombarding her with questions about what in the name of the  _gods_  had happened to cause both Ruby and Weiss to leave so abruptly.

Ruby leaving hadn't been as much of a surprise. After all, students had been known to suddenly transfer in and out from time to time. Pyrrha had done so, though in her situation, she had died instead of simply transferred out. Or... had been murdered, anyway. The rumour that Ruby had shared in the other girl's fate had been one of the more commonly whispered-about circumstances in the weeks that passed since the incident. Luckily, Ruby had found out from both Penny and Katt that the knowledge of Ciel's insanity and subsequent murder of Pyrrha Nikos had become known to all of Atlas Academy since then, and many felt horrible about having thought badly of the bullied girl. A victory, if only a small one.

No, it had been Weiss' departure that had really stirred up the rumor mill that was Atlas Academy. A teacher, especially one as well-liked as she had been, that leaves so suddenly can only mean a few things; the most likely of which being something inherently wrong with the school itself. Hopefully, it would lead to a full investigation of what had been going on there in the past couple of years. It was definitely time to clean house.

"What even is 'stanky-ass' sex, Katt?" Ruby laughs. It's the first time she really remembers laughing since she returned home to Patch nearly three weeks ago. "I mean, really?"

"Oh, you know." Ruby imagines the faunus waving her hand around in a vague gesture. "Dildos in every orifice, fisting, a little bit of anal, rimming… the works."

Ruby blinks. "Um…"

"You  _didn't_!" Katt gasps dramatically.

"Well, not  _every_  orifice," Ruby mutters sheepishly.

The older girl cackles in her ear, and Ruby grins again. It feels good to have a friend like her - one that accepts you and loved you for who you were.

"Okay, okay," Katt finally says after her laughter subsides. "So what  _really_  happened?"

"Tell you what: why don't I tell you the whole story when you come to visit?"

The faunus moans loudly; petulant. "But I don't graduate for another five  _months_!" she whines. "I don't think I can wait that long! I crave information! Gossip! Everybody's been coming to  _me_  to find out the truth! They all know we're tight, and I've never been so popular before. You've gotta give me something to give these girls! They're rabid, I tell you! Rabid!"

"Sorry, Katt," Ruby says, grinning. "No can do. You gotta wait." She hesitates for a moment. "Though, I will tell you… the one about Weiss and I having sex on the piano was a good one. If you know what I mean."

"I can work with that," the girl responds immediately. "Thanks, girlfriend! You know, that reminds me; what are you gonna do about school? You gonna hit up somewheres else until you graduate?"

"Nah," Ruby shakes her head. "I'm gonna take the advancement tests myself. With a little serious studying, I think I can do it. My dad agreed; no more school for me."

"Bitchin'," Katt chuckles. "Lucky you. My parents would have kittens if I dropped out and just take the tests. And I don't need any more siblings, thanks." She paused momentarily as Ruby chuckles at her own joke. "Look, I gotta go. Class." She hesitates again, during which Ruby can hear someone else speaking in the background. "Oh, and Penny says 'Hi, friend Ruby!'... you wierdo! Just call her Ruby!"

Ruby giggles. "Tell her I said 'hi', and I miss you both."

"Miss you too!" Katt says, and her words are echoed by Penny in the background. "Later!"

The line cuts off, and Ruby sighs, setting her scroll down on the arm of her couch. She inhales slowly, carefully, breathing in the scent of her home, calmly reliving moment of her childhood through scent and sound, and, unbidden, the thought of her mother comes to her.

She wonders if…

"Kiddo?"

Ruby's eyes open and she turns to see her father, Tai-Yang, and her sister, Yang, hovering in the doorway to the living room, small, warm smiles on both of their faces. Ruby blinks, momentarily thrown by how similar they look with their straw-gold hair and tanned complexions. Sure, Yang's hair is far longer than their father's, but it is clear who Yang had taken after.

"Yeah, dad?"

"All done talking to your friend?"

Nodding, Ruby smiles at him. "Yeah. What's up? Did you guys need some help getting dinner ready?"

"No, no," he says, taking a couple steps into the room. "Everything is ready. We're waiting for your Uncle Qrow to get here. I-I mean,  _we_...we were actually hoping we could... well-"

"What  _dad_  is trying to say," Yang cuts in with an exaggerated roll of her eyes, both her hands planted firmly on her hips. "Is we were hoping the three of us could chat a little before Qrow gets here. I just got in last night, so we haven't had much time together. You know, the three of us."

"Sure." Ruby scoots over on the couch, making room for Yang. The older girl collapses on the cushions with an ' _oof'_  and their father takes a seat in the recliner across from them.

"So," Yang starts off. "How was school?"

The question is so common, and yet so absurd, that Ruby cannot help but laugh. Yang joins in, and even their father gets a chuckle out of it. After their laughter dies down, Ruby shrugs.

"Not too bad."

"Get all your homework done on time?" Yang prods.

"Surprisingly, yes," Ruby admits truthfully. At her sister's raised eyebrows, she grins. "I had some good encouragement."

"Yeah, I'll bet you did," Yang replies dryly. Their father coughs into his hand, but the sisters ignore him. "You make any friends?"

Ruby shrugs. "A few. I bunked next to a faunus named Neon Katt. Everyone calls her Katt. She's pretty cool; she showed me the ropes and backed me up when I needed help. I was actually hoping she could come to Patch for a visit after she graduates."

"I don't see why not," Tai-Yang says, smiling proudly. "I'd love to have your friends over anytime."

Nodding, Ruby continues, "I also made friends with an underclassmen; Penny. She's a little strange, but really nice. I was thinking of going to visit her sometime. Maybe after Katt visits. She said her family already said I'd be welcome."

"I think we can manage that."

"Cool, cool," Yang says, her tone very nearly casual. "You get into any fights?"

Ruby can't help but snort. "Understatement of the century."

Surprisingly, Yang chuckles. "Yeah, I know. Had to ask it though." She reaches out and puts a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "You okay?"

Slowly, Ruby nods. "Yeah…." She looks down and turns her arms over, staring at the pair of angry, pink, recently-healed scars on the insides of her wrists. "I'll be fine."

The three of them are silent for a long time, during which Ruby quietly fingers her scars. She feels both Yang's and her father's eyes on her, but doesn't know what to say.

Suddenly, Tai-Yang seems to reach a conclusion for all of them. "I'm sorry, Ruby," he says softly.

She looks up. "Huh? Why?"

Grimacing, he refuses to look away. "I forced you to go to Atlas. I made you leave Beacon and…" he falters, his jaw working silently.

Yang seems to take pity on him. "What I think he means is," she says. "That if he knew this would have happened, he would have never forced you to go somewhere you didn't want to go in the first place."

Ruby can understand that, but…

"No," she says simply. "I'm glad you made me go to Atlas."

"But…" her father starts to say, but trails off as Ruby rubs at her wrist.

"There were some bad things that happened, but overall I had fun there," Ruby says. "I made friends. I found out something about myself that I'd forgotten about." She had told them about starting to play the piano again - much to her father's surprise and Yang's pleased smirk - as well as a her newfound interest in Atlesian poetry and music. "And I met someone I really care about. So… yeah, this happened-" she gestures to her wrists. "-and, yeah, it sucks. But I wouldn't trade my time there for anything."

"Are you sure you don't want me to…" Tai-Yang starts, trailing off as Ruby shakes her head.

"No. It's fine." Her father had, pretty much after she returned home, considered pressing charges to Atlas Academy for the incident that occured within their walls. After all, it had been mostly due to the neglect of the staff and faculty there that something like this had even been allowed to happen. In the end, though, Ruby had declined. It was over, and the school ha _d generously_  footed her hospitalization bill. Ruby just didn't want to deal with it anymore. And besides, she didn't want anything negative like a lawsuit to end up working its way back to Weiss.

All three are quiet for another long time before Yang clears her throat. "Well, quite a busy few weeks you had, baby sis. I think it even tops my legendary two-week vacation over in Haven."

"Oh, I dunno," Ruby drawls sardonically. "I mean, It's kinda hard to beat a two week bender with, how many girls was it again?"

"Psssh. Asking me to remember  _that_  is like trying to get Uncle Qrow to remember the day of the week," Yang shoots back, waving a hand dismissively. "And besides, you nailed a teacher. That tops pretty much anything I got."

"Can we  _please_  not talking about my daughters 'nailing' anyone?" their father pleads, his face in his hands.

They laugh, Yang wraps an arm around Ruby's shoulders in a one-armed hug, and a few moments later there is a knock on the door.

"That's Uncle Qrow!" Yang jumps to her feet. "Wasn't he bringing his girlfriend over, too?"

"His fiancé, actually," Tai-Yang announces. "And it's apparently pretty recent. This dinner is half to welcome Ruby back and half to congratulate the both of them."

"Oooh, nice!" Yang grins, her lavender eyes glinting with mirth. "I'll be sure to heckle him something fierce." And, with a flourish, she disappears through the door.

Ruby moves to stand up, but her father beats her to it. He pushes himself to his feet and walks over to her. Ruby blinks as he leans down, presses his face into the crown of her head, and kisses her.

"I love you, Kiddo," he says.

"Me too, dad," she replies, blinking back the tears that suddenly prickle behind her eyes

Because she does.

0 - 0 - 0

Uncle Qrow has not changed at all; he is the same scruffy, somewhat unkempt, disheveled-looking physical education teacher that Ruby had grown up knowing. And, truthfully, she would not have it any other way.

His new fiancé, on the other hand…

Even having never once met the woman, it takes only a moment of stunned disbelief for Ruby to realize who she is. Long, snowy white hair, piercing blue-grey eyes, a thin, well-sculpted face. She was taller, of course, and has the presence of a well-bred, well-educated woman about her.

Ruby had heard enough about the woman standing before her from her very own sister to guess what her Uncle Qrow saw in her. After all, she had seen the same things in Weiss…

"You must be Ruby Rose," Winter Schnee says primly, a small smile playing around her lips. She steps away from beside Qrow and holds out her hand for Ruby to take. "I'm pleased to finally meet you."

"I… y-yeah," she rasps out, feeling decidedly flat-footed but still clasping the woman's hand in her own. "Me too."

Winter's eyes flicker down to Ruby's wrist, an odd look passing through them for a moment, and then, as quick as it came, it passes. "I've heard many things about you," she says. She smirks only slightly and Ruby can definitely see the familial resemblance between sisters. "I'm wondering how many of them are true."

"Now, now," Qrow chastises dryly, stepping around Winter to give his niece a hug. "Let's not give her a hard time. Hey, kiddo - missed you."

"Missed you, too, Uncle Qrow." Ruby returns his hug happily, and then steps away to smile up at Winter. "It depends on who you were talking to," she replies to the woman's remark. "If you were to ask Professor Wilkins, for example…"

Winter makes a face. "Please. I wouldn't ask that old cow the time of day and expect an honest answer. She was insufferable when I was there, and from what my sister tells me, she's only gotten worse since then."

"You can say that again," Ruby says mulishly. "She never did like me."

"I'm pretty sure she doesn't even like herself," Winter agrees.

"She did seem kinda intense when I talked to her…" Tai Yang mutters.

"Shit, I hate the bitch and I've never even met her." Yang crosses her arms over her chest, frowning.

Ruby smiles at that, and then turns nervously back to Winter. "Um, would you… can you... tell me how Weiss is doing?"

Winter shrugs. "About as well as you can expect. She's been a bit quiet, but pleased to be free of Atlas and Wilkins." She smiled down at Ruby. "She misses you."

Ice lances through Ruby's heart, and she nearly breaks. Instead, she clears her throat, determined to get through this. "Was… were there any problem with her- I-I mean your parents?"

"You mean, about the falling out from Atlas Academy?"

Ruby shrugs. "That and… well… that and everything else." She recalls Weiss being desperately worried about what would happen if her parents found out about her being a lesbian.

Winter considers for a moment. "Again, about as much as you can expect. Mother and Father weren't happy. But that was to be expected. Father is never happy; I expect he gets along quite well with Professor Wilkins. But our mother - while still displeased with her leaving Atlas Academy - understands regardless." A gentle smile appears on the woman's pleasant face. "She always loved Weiss and I unconditionally."

"That's… that's good," Ruby says, nodding. And it was. She had been desperately worried about Weiss after all the drama at the hospital died out. Her father had arrived after travelling from Patch overnight, and after a brief meeting with the young former-teacher, who explained what had happened, she left Ruby in Tai-Yang's care, promising to return as soon as she was able.

That had been the last time Ruby had seen Weiss. She later found out that the fallout with Atlas Academy, and in turn her own family, caused problems that made it so Weiss would not be able to return to Ruby - at least, for a while.

She can only hope the older girl was not in any legal trouble. From Winter's short explanation, at least, it seems as though that is not the issue.

"That's good," Ruby says once more. "Thank you."

"No, thank  _you,_  Ruby," Winter says, looking down at her.

"W-what?" Ruby blinks rapidly. "Why? If it weren't for me…"

Winter shakes her head. "I always knew that Weiss would never  _willingly_  choose to stay at Atlas. She wanted to teach, yes, and it's a noble goal. But Atlas Academy is a stifling environment. She would never flourish there. I tried to tell her as much, but she never listened, saying that our father would want it, and that she had no choice. I was afraid she would be stuck there forever." Then, smiling, she looked down into Ruby's eyes. "And you caused her to leave. Even more so, if what she told me was correct, you didn't even do it on purpose. You made her want to leave on her  _own_. And for that, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart."

"I…" Ruby flounders, embarrassed. "You're welcome." There is another few awkward moments of silence until Ruby speaks again. "Can you do something for me?"

Winter blinks. "Of course."

Stealing herself, Ruby takes a deep breath. "Can you give Weiss a message?"

The woman shrugs. Her eyes flicking towards her side, Winter says, "It depends on the message, but possibly. What is it?"

Licking her lips, Ruby clears her throat. "Can you tell her… that I'm happy I met her. There were a lot of problems, and she had her own share of them, but she's a wonderful person who deserves to love, and to be loved. And…" she hesitates, thinking about their brief, but loving goodbye in the hospital. "And that  _I_  love her, and I'll wait for her. As long as it takes."

Yang ' _awww_ 's quietly from the side, but Ruby ignores her, keeping her eyes on Winter. She is serious about Weiss, and wants the woman to know it.

Winter regards Ruby for a long moment before finally shaking her head. "I'm sorry, but I can't do that."

Ruby feels her heart drop into the pit of her stomach. "Why?"

"Because I think it would be better to tell her yourself." Winter replies, stepping to the side. Ruby blinked rapidly, all her attention focusing on the figure she hadn't noticed before; the one that is standing right behind Winter's tall frame and pressing up against the door, apparently having heard the entire conversation.

It is Weiss.

"Weiss!" Ruby gasps, reaching out as if to make a grab for her, but falters. "You… you're here?"

Slowly, Weiss steps forward, her eyes searching Ruby's face hungrily, as if she had not seen her for years instead of weeks. "I'm here," she replies, moving past Winter and stepping close to Ruby. "I'm sorry it took so long."

Ruby shakes her head, reaching out again to attempt to pull at Weiss. Instead of stepping into the embrace, the older girl reaches up to grab Ruby's hands. She turns them over to stare at the scars on the underside of her wrists.

"I'm so… so sorry," she says quietly. "For everything."

Ruby shakes her head. "I'm not," she stammers, finally losing her fight to hold her tears back. "It was worth it. All of it."

Weiss still looks unsure, but nods, rubbing her thumbs gently over Ruby's wrists. She looks on the verge of tears herself.

"What happened to Ciel?" Ruby finds herself asking. She never  _did_  hear the truth about that, after all.

Weiss hesitates, clearly unwilling to talk about it but also unwilling to keep anything from Ruby. "She was admitted to Atlas General for care after I hit her head. From there she… she was moved to Snowy Hills. It's a psychiatric facility. They should be able to help her there."

Ruby nods, not really caring if Ciel is 'helped' or not. She is taken care of now, and would never bother them again.

"Good. I'm glad."

They fall silent again, neither knowing what to say. The others stand nearby as well, shifting quietly and whispering to themselves, clearly unwilling to intrude on the young couple's reunion.

"So…" Ruby says, her lips curling into a small smirk. "Did you hear all that I just said to Winter? Or do you need me to repeat any of it?"

"I think I got it," Weiss replies dryly, her tone turning sardonic. She steps forward, still holding onto Ruby's wrists. "But I think I may need a little reminder."

Giggling, Ruby leans forward and presses her lips to Weiss' in an open-mouthed kiss. The older girl returns it, sighing happily into Ruby's mouth as they press flush together.

"Oooh,  _nice…_  go baby sis!" Yang snickers from a few feet away, and Weiss and Ruby spring apart, apparently having forgotten that they aren't alone. Everyone in the room - sans Yang, who even has her scroll out and is taking a video - is red-faced with embarrassment.

"Yes, well-" Winter coughs into her hand. She tugs Qrow closer, who winks at Ruby, a cheeky smirk on his face. "I suppose that's that, then." She looks expectantly to Weiss. "Weren't you going to tell her something?"

Weiss shifts on her feet, and Ruby turns to her. "Weiss?"

"Yes, well," Weiss coughs into her hand as Winter had, finding the words. Ruby smiles at the similarities between the Schnee sisters. "You remember when I was looking through job listings before… we left Atlas?"

"Yeah," Ruby says slowly, already working on putting together the clues in her head.

"Well, I got offered a teaching position." Weiss eludes simply, smiling. "It would  _seem_ ," she continues, shooting a significant glance towards Winter. "That I have an 'in' with a local school here. Signal - I think you used to go there?"

Ruby blinks again, turning slowly to look at Winter - no, at  _Qrow_. "Uncle Qrow?" she asks, her heart beating fast in her chest.

The man waves his hand in a vague gesture. "Yeah, well, I  _might_  have dropped the hint to the teacher's board that we need an updated music program. And as it so happens, I  _also might_  have known an unattached teacher with a solid music background." His grin widened, his dark red eyes glinting. "And as it so  _happens,_ the head of the Signal school board  _might_  have a very intense dislike for Wilkins of Atlas. It all just seemed to fall into place after that."

Hardly daring to believe it, Ruby turns to stare at Weiss. "So… you're…"

"I'm going to teach children at Signal," Weiss breaths, her cheeks flushing brightly. "As a full-time music teacher. They even agreed for me to have a segment on traditional Atlesian music." She lifts Ruby's hands again, rubbing at her wrists lovingly. "I'm… staying with you," she adds hesitantly, "If you still want me. Do you?"

"Yes!" Ruby yells, lunging forward and wrapping her arms around Weiss, pulling her close. "Yes, yes, yes!"

And, before anybody can react, Ruby pulls away from the hug and tugs her over to her father, uncle, and sister. "Everyone," she says, wrapping an arm around the other's waist. She feels an arm snake around hers in turn, and her smile widens. "This is Weiss. My girlfriend. Used to be my teacher, but not just my girlfriend. Good thing too; 'cause being both was kinda hella awkward."

It is all very anticlimactic, Ruby muses as everyone is finally and formally introduced, but no less entertaining. Yang's smile is devilish and absolutely reeks of plotting. Tai-Yang looked like he had been hit in the head by a block of wood, even though he had been pretty much expecting this sort of thing eventually. Winter shakes her head in exasperation, but her pleased smile directed her younger sister says it all.

As the group slowly trickles from the entryway towards the dining room for dinner, Qrow sidles up to Ruby.

"So…" he says dryly, gesturing this his chin towards Weiss, who is talking with Winter as they leave the room. "You hittin' that?"

"Yup," Ruby grins, looking up at Qrow. She nods in Winter's direction. "You hittin' that?"

"Yup." Qrow lifts a fist to Ruby, who bumps it with her own. "Nice goin', kiddo."

"You too, Uncle Qrow."

"Sounds like you an an interesting school year so far. Tell me about it?"

Ruby laughs as she skips after Weiss, Qrow following at her heels.

"Uncle Qrow, you have  _no_ idea."

0 - 0 - 0

**The End**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Always end on a high note.
> 
> We really hope you enjoyed All's Fair in Love and... Well... Love! It was a fun project that started off as an amusing prompt and ended up turning into a pretty good story. I'll be honest, one of the main goals (aside from tasty, tasty whiterose) was to create a villain that people hate from a minor character with, like, a few minutes of screen time at best. I think Ciel succeeded in spades. And Katt is bestbuds with Rubes who shares cigarettes. Yet another one of the goals.
> 
> We sincerely hope you were all entertained, or amused at least, and if you liked it *or not*, let us know!
> 
> See you all on the next project!
> 
> ***Will work for glomps***

**Author's Note:**

> ***Will work for glomps***


End file.
